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Canoes: A Natural History in North America

Mark Neuzil and Norman Sims 2016

This is the story of the canoe, that singular American artifact so little changed over time. Featured here are canoes old and new, from birch bark to dugout to carbon fiber; the people who made them; and the adventures they shared. With features of technology, industry, art, and survival, the canoe carries us deep into the natural and cultural history of North America.

Follow author Mark Neuzil on Twitter: @mrneuzil

ISBN(s)

9780816681174 (hardcover)

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A black-and-white photograph of two men working to make dugout canoes. Each man is working on a separate canoe and two other canoes are in the background to the side.

Four Canoes Cut from One Cedar Log

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Old-growth cedar trees are immense and can provide the materials for several boats. In this photograph, four different canoes are being hewn from one red cedar log at Olympic Loop, Queets River, Washington. Photograph by Dale O. Northrup, c. 1930.

An etching of two men working with steam to hollow a dugout. Men in the background fell trees with fires.

The Manner of Makinge Their Boates

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

The Manner of Makinge Their Boates, Theodor de Bry, 1590.

A black-and-white photograph of Bill Reid and several other people using steam to spread the sides of a hollowed dugout canoe.

Bill Reid and Associates Creating a Dugout Canoe, 1985

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Bill Reid and Associates Creating a Dugout Canoe, 1985.

A color photograph of Napolean Sanford sitting with an unfinished dugout canoe.

Napolean Sanford with a Work in Progress

From Sidebar: Napolean Sanford

Napolean Sanford with a work in progress next to the Carib Council House in Salybia, Dominica.

A color photograph of Erik Simula working on a birch-bark canoe.

Erik Simula Working

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Contemporary birch-bark builder Erik Simula working on a bark canoe in 2009.

A black-and-white photograph depicting the process of building a birch-bark canoe. Stakes are in the ground forming an outline of a canoe. Bark is arranged to form canoe walls. Several figures are in the photograph working on this project.

Setting a Frame

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The setting of a frame for a birch-bark canoe involved preparing the ground, driving in stakes, and sliding in the bark and attaching a frame in the general shape of the boat. Photograph taken ca. 1885 at an Ojibwe camp.

A black-and-white photograph of two figures. A line is cut down the center of the downed log and they are peeling the bark from the tree.

Splitting the Bark

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Splitting the bark from a down tree took a light touch and patience.

A black-and-white photograph of a figure holding a roll of birch bark on their back.

Rolling the Bark

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Native builders would roll the stripped birch bark into a backpack of sorts, secure it with roots, and carry it back to the canoe-making camp. This individual with the pack is identified as Cheemaun of an Ojibwe tribe in Wisconsin.

A color photograph of a birch-bark pouch and several chunks of hardened spruce gum.

Spruce Gum Pouch

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

A tray or pouch made of birch bark was used to carry hardened pieces of specially prepared spruce gum (sap mixed with animal fat and ash), which could be chewed or heated and used to repair canoes when on a trip.

A color photograph of a figure cooking balsam fir pitch in an iron pan over an open flame.

Balsam Fir Pitch

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

By the mid-twentieth century, native builders were working to pass on their knowledge before the skills were lost.

A black-and-white photograph of a figure using a crooked knife to carve a piece of wood.

Crooked Knife

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

A crooked knife was an essential tool in the shaping of ribs, sheathing, thwarts, and other parts of the canoe.

Stakes are planted in the general shape of the canoe; a frame in the shape of a gunwale is dropped in with temporary thwarts attached.

Constructing the Birch-Bark Canoe, 1

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Stakes are planted in the general shape of the canoe; a frame in the shape of a gunwale is dropped in with temporary thwarts attached.

A sheet of bark is placed on the ground, the frame is set on top and weighted with rocks. The stakes are temporarily moved aside.

Constructing the Birch-Bark Canoe, 2

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

A sheet of bark is placed on the ground, the frame is set on top and weighted with rocks. The stakes are temporarily moved aside.

The stakes are put back and the bark shaped inside of them. Note that the stakes are now tied at their tops. Long battens are used to strengthen the frame.

Constructing the Birch-Bark Canoe, 3

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The stakes are put back and the bark shaped inside of them. Note that the stakes are now tied at their tops. Long battens are used to strengthen the frame.

The bark is in place and the gunwale frame is lifted into position. The sheer height is shown in cutaway (a). Blocks (b) are placed under the ends to provide the rocker.

Constructing the Birch-Bark Canoe, 4

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The bark is in place and the gunwale frame is lifted into position. The sheer height is shown in cutaway (a). Blocks (b) are placed under the ends to provide the rocker.

Shaping the ends and sewing is done upside down, on sawhorses.

Constructing the Birch-Bark Canoe, 5

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Shaping the ends and sewing is done upside down, on sawhorses.

Sheathing and ribs are added to give the canoe its final shape.

Constructing the Birch-Bark Canoe, 6

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Sheathing and ribs are added to give the canoe its final shape.

In 1939, Ojibwe tribal members at Grand Portage, near the border between the United States and Canada on Lake Superior, completed a birch-bark canoe in the traditional manner as part of a Works Progress Administration arts program. Here a headboard is installed.

Installing the Headboard

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

In 1939, Ojibwe tribal members at Grand Portage, near the border between the United States and Canada on Lake Superior, completed a birch-bark canoe in the traditional manner as part of a Works Progress Administration arts program. Here a headboard is installed.

A black-and-white photograph of workers in the canoe factory building canoes.

Building at the Canadian Canoe Company Factory

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

The building department at the Canadian Canoe Company factory, ca. late nineteenth century.

Sawdust litters the floor of the workshop at the Canadian Canoe Company factory as builders fashion canoes in distinctive shapes.

Sawdust at the Canadian Canoe Company Factory

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

Sawdust litters the floor of the workshop at the Canadian Canoe Company factory as builders fashion canoes in distinctive shapes.