Haida Canoe Revitalization Group (HCRG) from Kasa'an, Alaska

[Rob Stevens]

 

[pklonowski]

WOW! Any thoughts of bringing Jason to Assembly to share this talk, or even just showing the movie?

 

[lowangle al]

Interesting video, thanks for posting it. Coincidently, last week in Anchorage I spoke with a Haida canoe carver at a Native craft show. He was selling jewelry but had two scale model Haida canoes on his table. One was finished, being painted and having seats and the other had a different shape and was bare wood. When I asked if they still paddle those boats and he said yes and then went right in to explaining the difference in the two models. He said that they were the same model boat and the difference was that the unfinished one hadn't been steamed yet. He said the process was the same as with full sized boats and then went on to explain that process. The one thing that struck me was; by suspending the ends of the boat, the weight of the water pushed the hull down eliminating reverse rocker.

It was a very interesting show with some great art. I also met a Native from Point Hope Ak that built a 27 foot skin on frame umiak. He had a model of the form that was used to build the boat, that had sparked our conversation. He showed me a photo of the boat under construction and had a leftover piece of the skin used to cover the boat. The skin was from the bearded seal and included part of the waterproof seam used to stitch the hides together. It was very tough material compared to either birchbark or filled canvas. He also told me the story of a whale hunt from the boat that ended with two boats flipped over putting 11 guys in the water. None of them knew how to swim and they didn't wear life jackets but they all survived after being picket up by another boat after about ten minutes in the water.

 

[Worth Gretter]

Rob, I found an hour today to watch the video. It's incredible! I'm so impressed with the Haida efforts to preserve their culture.