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

From the Associates of the New Brunswick Archives... Title Maliseet First Nations people at Kingsclear near Fredericton, late 1800's / Personnes des Premières Nations Malécite, à Kingsclear près de Fredericton, fin des 1800

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