César Newashish and his canoe

Born in 1904, César Newashish passed away at the age of 92. He was an artisan who built canoes solely from the materials found in the region’s forest. The canoe’s hull was made from a single piece of birch bark. It was cut in early spring or winter when temperatures were mild. The canoe was stitched using only spruce roots, and sealed with sap. Finally, floral and ancestral motifs were carved into the birch bark using a traditional scraping technique. These motifs allowed the owner of the boat to know which one was his; each artisan had their own unique motif.

Scraping technique

Birch bark has many layers, varying from creamy white to dark brown (the internal part known as cambium). The artisan begins by wetting the bark and then drawing the motifs on. Next, he or she scraps either inside or around the motifs. Scraping the centre of the motifs results in a white image on a brown background, while scraping around the motifs results in a dark image on a pale background.