Rex Ziak (pronounced "zeek") is an American

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

tour guide A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, and information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, rel ...

, and

documentarian A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill N ...

, who lives in

Naselle, Washington Naselle is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pacific County, Washington, United States located about 23 miles (37 km) from the mouth of the Columbia River. The population was 421 at the 2020 census. The valley's Naselle River flows west in ...

, United States. Known for his

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

studies, he is the author of ''In Full View.''

Career

As a documentarian and cinematographer, his work under assignment from

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

received an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

in 1993 for cinematography in the documentary ''Tall Ship: High Sea Adventure''. He was also involved in the filming of the 2003

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

documentary, ''Marine Corps Survival School'', where Ziak had to film at "high altitudes and in low temperatures" in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

Lewis and Clark Studies

After careful study of the expedition's journals and of the geography of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

, Ziak discovered the previously unknown fact that from November 7, 1805, to December 6, the Lewis and Clark expedition stayed in what is now

Pacific County Pacific County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,365. Its county seat is South Bend, and its largest city is Raymond. The county was formed by the government of Oregon Territory in Febru ...

, along the

Long Beach Peninsula The Long Beach Peninsula is an arm of land on the southern coast of the state of Washington in the United States. Entirely within Pacific County, it is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the south by the Columbia River, and the east by ...

. This finding took six years for Ziak to piece together, using the comments in the expedition's journals to find the locations the explorers stopped at on their trip. A controversy arose between Oregon, long considered the end of the expedition, and Washington's historians over Ziak's findings, with many historians in Washington and elsewhere supporting his discovery and many in Oregon opposing it. In 1999, soon after his announcement, Ziak and David Nicandri, director of the Washington State Historical Society, began petitioning to give the newly found ending location, a camping spot called Station Camp, National Landmark Status. In addition, that year,

US Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Brian Baird Brian Norton Baird (born March 7, 1956) is an American psychologist and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2011. After leaving the U.S. House of Representatives, he served as the ...

had an amendment passed that changed the "federal designation of the Lewis and CLark National Historic Trail as ending not in Oregon but in Oregon and Washington." In 2004, Ziak testified before Congress in support of the

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park The Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (including the former Fort Clatsop National Memorial), located in the vicinity of the mouth of the Columbia River, commemorates the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Administration of the park, which includ ...

. The next year he published a fold-out map and guide to the route taken by the expedition.''Lewis and Clark: Down and Up the Columbia River'' (Moffitt House Press, 2005) Ziak and his wife, Keiko, founded the OBON Society in 2015.

Personal life

Ziak was awarded the Order of the Sun by the Japanese government in March of 2024.

Bibliography

* ''In Full View (A True and Accurate Account of Lewis and Clark's Arrival at the Pacific Ocean, and Their Search for a Winter Camp Along the Lower Columbia River)'' (Moffitt House Press, 2002)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ziak, Rex Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Pacific County, Washington 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Historians of the United States Tour guides of the United States Historians from Washington (state) American male non-fiction writers