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Take a little time to watch these two inspiring canoe videos, it’s worth it.
“The Canoe” features footage of Algonquin Provincial Park where we go for our Venture Crew’s annual canoe trips.
There’s a segment on building a birch bark canoe, so I just had to add the second film to this post.
Filmed in the early 1970’s “Cesar’s Bark Canoe” features what bushcraft guru Ray Mears calls the epitome and icon of bushcraft, the finest craft people have ever created; the birchbark canoe. This astounding piece of human history documents the canoe taking shape under the skilled hands of Cesar Newashish.
I’ve embedded the canoe videos below, I recommend viewing them full-screen.
Goh Iromoto’s “The Canoe”
I wanted to show how several other paddlers similar to me have created strong intimate connections alongside the canoe. It really gave me great joy to see how rich the mosaic of stories I encountered were. Whether they were young or old, or from various cultural backgrounds, individuals were taking the traditional Canadian vessel and seeking new meaning with it. For me, the diverse paddlers I met represented a Canada that has grown and evolved since its birth 150 years ago – and something that I was able to stand proud of today.
I’ve continued to paddle my whole life and plan to do so for a very long time. Seeing and hearing these stories made me appreciate and realize how important the canoe is to my life. To all the paddlers out there (and to those who want to start!), this film is for you. Keep on paddling.
Here’s a direct link to the film on Vimeo.
Goh Imoroto’s website showcases his other works. Be sure to see We Belong To It featuring Ray Mears in Northern Ontario. This is a video anyone who spends any time at all in the out of doors will appreciate.
César’s Bark Canoe
Bernard Gosselin, 1971
César Newashish, a 67-year-old Attikamek of the Manawan Reserve north of Montreal, uses only birch bark, cedar splints, spruce roots and gum. Building a canoe solely from the materials that the forest provides may become a lost art, even among the Native peoples whose traditional craft it is.
Cesar’s bark Canoe can be downloaded at the National Film Board of Canada’s website. The National Film Board is a real treasure trove; for example: these films of Inuit crafts.
