| description: | Making a canoe was a family affair. Every Spring a family would have to decide how many and what kind of canoe they would need for that Summer. This canoe normally lasted two seasons of use. The canoe builder stripped the bark from the trees in early Spring, the women gathered spruce roots, peeled them and mixed spruce gum and ash to make the pitch used to waterproof the seams. The actual building of the canoes took six to eight weeks. Seen in the photo is the family with the bottom layer of birch bark weighted down between stakes that determine the shape of the canoe. The women and older children sew another layer of bark on each side to bring it to the proper height and seal the seams with pitch. The canoe builder will then fit stems and the preshaped gun whale, side and bottom slats, and then the preformed ribs. Final sewing and sealing is done by the women. |