Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe

Constructing birchbark canoes among the Algonquin Indians of Maniwaki, Quebec
VHS, PAL format, DVD: 54 minutes

Henri Vaillancourt 

Basil Smith sewing the seams of a new birchbark canoe ; from ''Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe " ; photo Henri Vaillancourt , Maniwaki , Quebec 1980

 

Laying out a sheet of bark for a new birchbark canoe . The gunnels are weighted on the birchbark sheet ...the bark is  then bent up along the sides into the shape of the canoe ; from ''Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe '' ; photo Henri Vaillancourt ; Maniwaki, Quebec , 1980 ''Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe'' follows the construction of a 14' "Wabanaki Chiman '' canoe .This style of birchbark canoe [ literally ''Abnaki canoe'' ] came into common use among the Algonquin towards the end of the 19th century and generally replaced the old - form high ended style which had existed since pre - contact times and had inspired the large fur trade birchbark canoes developed by the French. The ''Wabanaki'' style was, in contrast to the old form , simpler and quicker to build . Developed by the Abnaki in southern Quebec, this canoe type quickly became popular among white sportsmen for hunting and fishing, and this demand contributed to its' adoption among the Algonquin and neighboring Ojibway.

Canoe building continued as a cottage industry into the latter part of the twentieth century among the Algonquin of western Quebec, and in July 1980, Jocko Carle and Basil Smith, two elderly men from Maniwaki - and the subjects of this documentary - built a birchbark canoe at their cabin on a remote northern lake. The pair, friends and hunting - trapping partners since childhood, regularly used the cabin as their base for hunting and canoe building activities. Located just across the lake were the stands of mature cedar needed for the framing of the canoe. And in the surrounding forests were the large birches from which they peeled a sheet large enough to cover the entire canoe, and dug the sinewy spruce roots that were used for binding the wooden parts of the canoe and sewing the bark skin. Working together the two men fashioned the gunnels , ribs , and planking from cedar using axe and ''crooked knife'' and assembled the canoe on the traditional sand bed . Ten days later on a warm summer evening , the canoe was launched to glide noiselessly over the mirror smooth lake.

Jocko and Basil begin construction of a new birchbark canoe ; from ''Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe'' ; photo Henri Vaillancourt ; Maniwaki , Quebec 1980

 

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The finished birchbark canoe being paddled on its maiden voyage. A 14' birchbark canoe such as this was a popular size among white sports hunters and fishermen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ; from '' Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe '' ; photo Henri Vaillancourt, Maniwaki Quebec 1980.

 

Birchbark canoe building has been practied without interruption from time immemorial to the present day by the Algonquin of western Quebec and eastern Ontario . Whereas, in most of North America , birchbark canoe construction and usage disappeared sometime before the middle of the last century, it remained an intact part of Algonquin material culture until the dawn of the 21st century.

There are several reasons for this unusual continuity among the Algonquin. Perhaps most important is the geographical location of many of the Algonquin communities. Being situated in sometimes fairly remote areas , they were less affected by the acculturation that took place among their more southern neighbors living near non-native populations . Also, Algonquin territory lay within a region historically known for some of the best birchbark found in Canada and the U.S. . Although logging did occur within this area , there remained vast tracts of woodland where excellent material could be found. In contrast, the Algonquin's Cree and Montagnais neighbors to the north occupy land where the birch is neither large nor of good quality ; in the early 20th century, these canoe builders transitioned to the readily available canvas as a substitute for birchbark in canoe construction, retaining in the process, the methods and lines of the original bark construction.This development took place as well in many other parts of northern Canada and Alaska where economy and tradition slowed the adoption of modern watercraft that was occurring in the more acculturated southern Native communities

Lastly , towards the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the manufacture of birchbark canoes for non-Natives became an important economic activity for a large number of Algonquin families. This trade was largely responsible for the retention of traditional canoe making skills to the present day, as very few Algonquin actually used birchbark canoes in the last half of the 20th century.

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 Basil splitting cedar for the planking of a birchbark canoe . Birchbark canoes often have planking a mere 1/16 '' in thickness ; from  ''Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe '' ; photo Henri Vaillancourt ; Maniwaki Quebec 1980

Basil splitting cedar for the planking of a birchbark canoe ; from ''Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe''; photo Henri Vaillancourt , Maniwaki , Quebec , 1980

 

Thus , the stage was set for the documentation in 1980 of the building of a birchbark canoe by Maniwaki residents Jocko Carle and Basil Smith. Both men had worked independently or with their families and others on numerous canoes in the 1930's, though neither had done any building in recent years until the summer of 1979 . For the video, they chose a lakeside cabin they regularly used for hunting and fishing , and where they had recently built canoes .In the surrounding forests were all the materials needed for the canoe. The pair first scouted the surrounding area for a birch large enough to cover the canoe in one piece, with the addition of sewn side panels to gain the necessary width in the midsection. Several trees were found and two were felled and peeled , the best being used as the main bottom sheet. Later that day , a grove of young white spruce trees was found growing in an open area from which a supply of long flexible roots was harvested for sewing and lashing the bark and wooden framework. The bark and roots were then taken to camp and placed in the lake to keep them fresh. 

Jocko and Basil pitching the seams of the new birchbark canoe prior to launching ; from ''Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe '' ; photo Henri Vaillancourt ; Maniwaki , Quebec , 1980

 

The following day, a short boat ride across the lake brought them to a stand of tall white cedars. A large straight grained tree was felled and split into the longitudinals to be used for the canoe's gunnels . Shorter sections of the same trunk were split into blanks for the ribs and planking of the canoe . The split pieces were then loaded in the boat and taken back to camp.

Over the next 9 days , the men constructed the canoe ; Basil peeled and split the roots while Jocko prepared the wooden components with his axe and crooked knife. The men then laid out the birchbark skin on the building bed...shaped it in the form of the canoe... which Basil then sewed and lashed together . The two then bent the ribs , which when dry, were installed along with the planking to give the canoe its final shape . The completed hull was then pitched with a mixture of pine rosin and grease. A mere 10 days after the gathering of the material, the new canoe was launched in the evening from the shore of the cabin.

Peeling a sheet of bark for the construction of a new birchbark canoe .The ultimate durability of a birchbark canoe is greatly dependent on the quality of the birchbark ; from '' Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe '' ; photo Henri Vaillancourt ; Maniwaki Quebec 1980

Peeling a sheet of bark for the construction of a new birchbark canoe ; from ''Building an Algonquin Birchbark canoe ''; photo Henri Vaillancourt ; Maniwaki Quebec , 1980

 

Jocko Carle sighting along the bow piece of a new birchbark canoe . The bow profiles of Algonquin birchbark canoes vary somewhat  according to the taste and whim of the individual builders ; from ''Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe '' ; photo  Henri Vaillancourt ; Maniwaki Quebec 1980   Jocko Carle pounding the ribs into the hull of a new birchbark canoe. Eastern birchbark canoes are reinforced with a complete system of ribs and planking ; some western Canadian and Alaskan birchbark canoes were built with a light rib and batten construction , not unlike the Eskimo kayak ; from ''Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe '' ; photo Henri Vaillancourt ; Maniwaki Quebec 1980.

Jocko Carle sighting along the bow piece of a new birchbark canoe ; from ''Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe '' ; photo Henri Vaillancourt ; Maniwaki Quebec 1980

 

Pounding the ribs into the hull of a new birchbark canoe ; from ''Building an Algonquin Birchbark Canoe '' ; photo Henri Vaillancourt ; Maniwaki , Quebec 1980

 

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