A Secret History of American River People is a project to build a collection of personal stories of people who live and work on the river from the deck of a recreated mid-century shantyboat over a series of epic river voyages.
We make our way downriver in a rustic houseboat, built by the artists over two years, loosely based on designs from shantyboats in the 1940s, from largely recycled and reclaimed materials. Traveling on the river in an authentic shantyboat and taking the time to listen to people’s stories inspires deep wonder and connects meaningfully with people’s personal histories.
