Birch Bark Canoe Build

The Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways (6650 E. Broadway, Mt. Pleasant) is currently hosting a community project to build a birch bark canoe (wiigwassi-jiiman).  The goal is not just to build a canoe, but also to keep the knowledge and teaching related to canoe- building alive in the community.  Anyone is welcome to participate in the build - just show up at the Ziibiwing Center during.  The Ziibiwing Center is normally open 10:00AM to 6:00PM, but is open at 9:00AM for the duration of this project.  They expect to be working on the canoe for at least the next week, but may continue into another week if the project is not finished by next Saturday.

I stopped on Thursday to snap a few pictures of the progress.  At this point they were using wooden pegs to sandwich birch bark (wiigwas) between the pieces of wood that would form the gunwales (pronounced gunnels) and were beginning to stitch the bark to the gunwales with lengths of split spruce root (wadap).

Rocks are used to hold everything in place until the gunwales are stitched to the birch bark hull

It takes many pieces of bark to make the hull - these must be stitched together

Traditional canoe-making tools include axes and crooked knives

Many hands speed up the process - for many this is their first time building a canoe

A detail showing the spruce root lashings

Young and old are all learning together

On Friday, I went back after work.  This time I took Shara (Mrs. LeValley) with me - she jumped right in to split a length of spruce root and use it to stitch part of the hull of the canoe to the gunwales.

Most of the hull has been stitched to the gunwales and the supporting framework has been removed.

The thwarts that brace the gunwales must also be stitched.

Work has really progress in the past day.

Shara (Mrs. LeValley) learns how to split the spruce roots for lashings.

A hole must be punched through the birch bark with an awl...

Then the spruce root can be laced through the hole and wrapped around the gunwale.

Shara finished the last stitch of the day

As this build will continue for about another week, I plan on stopping in several more times to check on the progress.  I'll post more pictures later this week.