Meet the Indigenous explorer who walked across America before Lewis and Clark

Lewis and Clark are often thought of as some of the earliest explorers of the western U.S. But more than a century before, Moncacht-Ape, a Yazoo explorer, reached the Pacific Ocean mainly by foot. The Indigenous explorer’s accounts were documented by French colonists, but were often dismissed as being untrue. But as featured in an article in Outside Magazine, historians and explorers may have been looking at the accounts all wrong. 

Mike Bezemek, author of “Mysteries of the National Parks,” wrote about his experience following the Yazoo explorer’s trail in the documented accounts and argues that Moncacht-Ape’s accounts are true. Bezemek joins us to share more on his journey and who this Yazoo explorer was.

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