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Birch Bark Canoes to Journey Up and Down the River
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The Voice of the River
We, the Nishnaabeg, make canoes from the bark of the birch tree, the only bark whose lines of growth run around the tree rather than up and down. Because of this, a light and strong canoe can be created from sheets of birch bark turned inside out.
The bark is cut and shaped and then the pieces are lashed together with the split root of the spruce tree. A mixture of charcoal, pine or spruce gum and animal fat is put on the seams to keep them watertight. The entire canoe is created with a crooked knife and an awl. No other bark in the world can be cut and shaped in this way.
In a land of forest and water we traveled by stream, river and lake in birch bark canoes. In winter, when the rivers were frozen and the water was hard, we traveled the same routes by snowshoe and toboggan.
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We would meet at the riverside once a year, a family gathering and we would stay for a month. We would hunt and fish; we would trade one medicine for another; we would trade snowshoes and canoes for flints to make a fire. We would trade songs, dances, dreams.
We have many choices in life. Whatever choices we make give us personal growth and experiences to carry through life. The canoe of the First Peoples is a symbol of belonging and travel. A person can travel anywhere if the will is there. Rivers represent a choice that one has in life. One may need to travel for a while on many rivers.
If the River could speak it would say "I am the great Shekak River. I have carried one generation to another generation. I provided food, fish, turtle to keep them alive. I provided the Eagle with its food. I gave the people the water to wash, to soak the hides." The waters gave life. Now that it is why we offer tobacco to the River to thank it for water, food, shelter, life for animals, birds and sky.
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We are a Canoe Nation
Our history and culture has for thousands of years been intertwined with birch bark, with the unique qualities of the birch bark canoe. The canoe has created strong relationships between our many First Nations, enabling travel, the sharing of knowledge, trade and cooperation. Our streams, rivers and lakes provide routes that lead to the heart of the Land. We are a canoe nation.
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