Gibban

Here is another scene from a beautiful historic photo posted earlier on the blog. It comes courtesy of Gerry Biron's very educational site on Iroquois and Wabanaki beadwork. Figure 16 – A circa 1880 image printed on a circa 1913 post card titled: “Indians on the Reservation near Fredericton, N. B.” 3.5 inches wide by 5.5 inches high. The original photo was taken during a St. Anne’s Day celebration at Kingsclear, New Brunswick. Likely a group of Maliseet. Photographer: William Taylor of Fredericton. A zoomed in shot further showcases the beautiful lines and grip shapes of these carved paddles. Paddle closeups

Here's another historic painting featuring some basic paddle decoration. It is from Cornelius Krieghoff's 1858 work - Indians in the Employ of the Hudson's Bay Company at at Portage . Leaning on the rock is a paddle featuring some etched chevron markings   Indians in the Employ of the Hudson's Bay Company at at Portage Cornelius Krieghoff - 1858 Art Gallery of Ontario - Toronto (Canada)   Dates: 1858 Paddle Closeup

Here's a scene by Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait (1819 – 1905), an American painter and lithographer of English birth. He established himself as a realistic painter of animals and images of Western hunters and trappers. Unlike many contemporaries, he travelled extensively in wilderness areas and later established a summer studio at a camp in the Adirondacks American Hunting Scenes: "An Early Start" Arthur F. Tait 1863 The paddle has a defined ridgeline and basic T grip. Also seems pretty short from the scale of the photo. The blade is clearly painted and there seems to be some banding decoration (or maybe paddle whipping) around the shaft. Paddle Closeup

in 1970, Denis Alford recorded the construction of a birch bark canoe for the National Museums of Canada. The builder was Dan Sarazin of Golden Lake (now known as Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation). Alford's detailed records of the build appear in David Gidmark's book Building a Birchbark Canoe - The Algonquin Wabanaki Tciman but the original photo slides are now preserved in the Archives of the Canadian Museum of History. Part of the set features a group of 4 paddles of varying lengths from this traditional Algonquin builder... Summary Four paddles in different woods made by Dan Sarazin  Author Alsford, Denis B., 1929-2004. Description 1 slide col. 35 mm. Control no. S72-3088 CD File no. CD94-68 Source Link A few more photos reveal Sarazin's method of lashing the paddles to form a yoke for a portage demonstration. Portaging Source Link  You can contrast that to an alternate lashing method of another builder from this photo in   Building the Chippewa Canoe by Robe...

Another historic pic featuring a large Eastern Woodlands style paddle... Gabe Tomah at Grand Lake, New Brunswick Photographer Unknown . 1900  

After watching a recent YouTube set on the latest Ray Mears program, Northern Wilderness, I was interested in learning a bit more about Samuel Hearne. Came across this page with some info and illustrations of his journeys. A sketch documents the watercraft used by the Tlicho (Dogrib) tribe of the area. These bark canoes were built in a sort of kayak style that could portaged on the back like a pack. The illustration also has a small image of an angular shaped paddle (item F). Northern Indian Canoe documented by Hearne Couldn't help but think I had seen this paddle design before and after searching through my previous posts, I recognized the shape as one that Henry Schoolcraft documented in his journeys nearly a quarter-of-a-century later in a completely different area (1000s of miles away). This shape was described as a cedar paddle used by the fur trade companies. Might be an interested shape to copy - the straight sides would certainly make for quick and easy carving. Schoolcraft...