Artefact 2: Invention of Canoes

Citation: The Canadian Encyclopedia. (2006). Birchbark canoe. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/birchbark-canoe

This is a picture of Birchbark Canoe in 1926, that were used by northern Indigenous groups to reach interior waterways in search of caribou. Birchbark canoes have been very important in Canada’s history, especially for the northern Algonquian peoples like the Innu, Ojibwe, Wolastoqiyik, and Algonq. It was invented by them and was used as their main water transportation. Canoes helped with exploration, trade, and the growth of the fur trade in Canada. They connected fur trade routes to key locations like Montreal. Also canoes were important for European Explorers, like Samuel de Champlain, who liked birch bark canoes for transportation and even noted that European boats were clumsy and useless. To build a birchbark canoe, they used birch trees which can be found everywhere across Canada. Then Indigenous women use the joints to be sewn together using roots from spruce or pine trees. The skills needed to build and care for canoes were passed down through generations. The canoe has become a lasting symbol of Canada’s rich history and heritage and represents the national identity. Its image even appears in many places, like the 1935 Canadian silver dollar and in folk stories from Quebec.

Bibliography: The Canadian Encyclopedia. (2006). Birchbark canoe. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/birchbark-canoe