The True Gem of the Anishinaabe

By Brett Larson Inaajimowin Editor

“The is a true gem — the birch bark canoe,“ said Erik Simula, a master craftsman who has built 20 birch bark canoes. “It’s the prettiest canoe, and the most meaningful canoe.“ Erik provided an introduction to the art to District III community members and guests at Meshakwad Community Center on August 30.

Earlier that day, Erik had led the group to a spruce and tamarack bog near Aazhoomog (Lake Lena) to harvest black spruce root, which is used to attach the birch bark hull to the cedar gunwales. Youth and Elders alike got their hands dirty, digging through the peat to follow the roots as they wound their way 10, 20, even 30 feet through the moss. After cutting the roots, they were careful to return the mossy covering to keep other roots from drying out.

Back at Meshakwad, the group ate lunch, and Bill Schaaf introduced Erik. Erik talked about the art of canoe-building, the history of the wiigwaasi-jiimaan, and how he learned the art from Native mentors like Bunky Fairbanks of Ball Club.

“When the white man came, about 400 years ago, they adopted this canoe without any changes and used it for over a couple hundred years,“ said Erik. “They didn’t know how to make these, so they relied on Native builders to build the canoes and make them bigger so they could haul more freight.“

He talked about the importance of preserving the art and passing it on to future generations. “In 500 years, this canoe has really never been improved upon,“ Erik said.

He demonstrated how a cedar log could be split using a moose rib and a mallet, and how a rib could also be used to plane down cedar for ribs or gunwales. He talked about har- vesting birch bark and making pitch to waterproof the seams, after which the group worked on processing the spruce root they had gathered for use on the canoe.

“We’re all here for a reason,“ Erik said. “We want to learn, we want to build a canoe, and we want to take pride in it and carry on the traditions.“

Erik’s visit was made possible in part by his wife Dawn’s uncle, Mille Lacs Band Elder Bill Schaaf, who has known Erik for many years.

Also assisting were Birdie Dunkley, the Community Cultural Coach with the Pine County Collaborative; Ed St. John of Mahkoonz Cultural Camp; Mat Pendleton, Cultural Activities Coordinator with the Lower Dakota Community; Jacob Bernier, Community Outreach with the Minnesota Historical Society, and Sandy Korf, Cultural Coordinator with Hinckley-Finlayson School District.

Mat and Jacob, who brought some Dakota youth to the event, have been working together for three years to preserve canoe-building traditions. They co-curated an exhibit called “Why Canoes?“ at Northrup on the University of Minnesota campus, and they’ve worked with Micronesian canoe builders and built Dakota dugout canoes of cottonwood and basswood.

To help bring Erik to District III, Mat received a grant from the Southwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership Board of Directors, for a Revitalizing Dakota Birchbark Canoes project. They reached out to Bill because they don’t have the natural resources for birch bark canoes in southern Minnesota.

Bill told the group that his plan is to build two birch bark canoes over the winter.

“We wanted you to learn something very important to who we are,“ Bill said. “This is what our ancestors did. This is how our ancestors survived in the old days.“