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Ojibwa Canoes
My Family's Main Means of Transportation
Ojibwa canoes opened up this country. Cunningly made from birchbark they were strong, light and able to carry very heavy loads. Designs varied from community to community...sometimes from family to family.
My grandparents were the only people I knew that still used birchbark canoes regularly. My parents had bought a red cedar strip canoe before I was born and it was the one they usually used for travel...until Kokum decided enough was enough and taught my parents how to build their own birchbark canoe.
Ojibwa children literally grew up in their family's canoes. My brother, for example, began a four day canoe trip the same day he was born. Like all babies, he'd been bundled in a tikinogan (cradle board) to keep him safe and quiet on the journey.
Because of the danger, when families travelled on the water, the only one who was allowed to speak was the person in the back with the paddle. As a child my mother had survived a canoe accident in which she was the only survivor. She never learned to swim and demanded that as children we sit motionless and absolutely silent.
From experience I can tell you that it didn't matter how far to the front of the canoe you sat...her paddle could reach you if you fidgeted...and the bruises usually disappeared by week's end!
