Bark canoe
César Newashish
Manawan, Quebec, 1903 - Manawan 1994
La Maison amérindienne de Mont-Saint-Hilaire
The Atikamekw Nehirowisiw canoe maker César Newashish came from Manawan in the Haute-Mauricie. Over the years, his bark canoes became an emblem of the nation's culture. Steeped in his Nation's oral tradition, he was an ardent defender of the environment and territorial rights of his people.
This bark canoe once belonged to Riopelle. Its dimensions indicate it could have accommodated one or two people for hunting or fishing near camps in the spring and summer. This variety of canoe is called à pince in French, because of the characteristic pinched-in shape of the stern and bow. Its five twarts, many ribs and gunwale form the craft's pegged structure. The hull is covered in birchbark. After everything was stitched and lashed together with spruce roots, the seams were sealed with a resinous spruce gum. The only tools the canoe maked used were a carving knife, a jack-knife, an awl and a wooden mallet. A wave motif scratched under the gunwale creates an illusion intended to help keep the hunter from being detected when stealthily approaching an animal. A moose, the animal that supplied the Atikamekw with necessities like food, clothing and materials for making tools, is depicted on either end of the canoe.
Bark canoe
César Newashish
Manawan, Quebec, 1903 - Manawan 1994
La Maison amérindienne de Mont-Saint-Hilaire
The Atikamekw Nehirowisiw canoe maker César Newashish came from Manawan in the Haute-Mauricie. Over the years, his bark canoes became an emblem of the nation's culture. Steeped in his Nation's oral tradition, he was an ardent defender of the environment and territorial rights of his people.
This bark canoe once belonged to Riopelle. Its dimensions indicate it could have accommodated one or two people for hunting or fishing near camps in the spring and summer. This variety of canoe is called à pince in French, because of the characteristic pinched-in shape of the stern and bow. Its five twarts, many ribs and gunwale form the craft's pegged structure. The hull is covered in birchbark. After everything was stitched and lashed together with spruce roots, the seams were sealed with a resinous spruce gum. The only tools the canoe maked used were a carving knife, a jack-knife, an awl and a wooden mallet. A wave motif scratched under the gunwale creates an illusion intended to help keep the hunter from being detected when stealthily approaching an animal. A moose, the animal that supplied the Atikamekw with necessities like food, clothing and materials for making tools, is depicted on either end of the canoe.