Fathoming Empire: Marine Knowledge and Colonial Navigation in an Indigenous Seascape, 1825–1907.

This article presents a doctoral dissertation research project examining the histories of marine knowledge and colonial navigation in the Pacific Northwest, focusing on the borderland shores of Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula. It argues that navigational infrastructure—such as hydrographic charts, sailing guides, and lighthouses—was central to 19th-century colonial expansion but was developed through prolonged exchanges between Indigenous and colonial mariners. The research highlights how Indigenous maritime knowledge shaped colonial encounters, the establishment of settler control, and the contested nature of marine space, including during shipwreck rescues. Supported by the International Council for Canadian Studies (ICCS), archival research in U.S. repositories has provided new insights into these transnational and Indigenous dimensions of maritime colonialism, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of settler colonialism and Indigenous sovereignty in the region.