How did the Algonquian build canoes?

Answer 1

The use of canoes depends not just on the availability of water courses, but that these waterways must be available in the direction people need to travel. For that reason there were no canoes on the Great Plains; there are some streams and rivers but they mainly flow from west to east - when the herds of elk, antelope and buffalo migrate annually from north to south and then north again.

Any map of the north-eastern US and the eastern half of Canada clearly shows many hundreds of lakes and very many streams and rivers that flow in many directions, allowing relatively easy journeys by canoe between almost any two points. There were also many native trails from one waterway to another, where the very lightweight canoes could be carried (portaged) for short distances.

On the far west coast of North America, large sea-going canoes were constructed for fishing and whaling by many tribes (including totally unique plank canoes constructed by the Coast Chumash of Southern California).

Canoe construction depended on available materials: the Secotan, Seminoles and other south-eastern tribes used dugout canoes; the Micmac, Malecite, Nascapi, Algonkin, Cree, Ojibwa, Shawnee and most of the eastern Algonquian tribes used birchbark over a wooden framework; the Iroquois further north used elm bark. The Chippewyans of Canada made their canoes of spruce bark, as did the Kutenai and Plateau Salish.

The links below take you to images of some native canoes:

Answer 2

The Iroquois tribes (Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk and Tuskarora) used mainly slippery elm bark for their canoes since birch trees were rare in their part of the country. Otherwise they used the same materials and tools that were used by their Algonquian neighbours. Elm canoes were quick to make but were less robust and durable than the birch canoes of the Ojibwe and other tribes.

Only a knife was needed to make all parts of the canoe framework, although an axe was sometimes used for splitting the ribs and other parts. An axe was also useful in felling an elm tree - but originally this was done simply by lighting a fire around the base of the tree and burning right through the trunk.

Once felled the elm bark could be stripped off in one complete piece, sewn at each end with cedar or tamarack roots that had been stripped, scraped and soaked to make them supple. The point of the knife made small holes for this lacing. Seams were sealed with pine gum and black pitch,

Ribs and thwarts were made from thinned sections of hardwood, made to strengthen the interior of the canoe and keep the sides about 36 inches apart in the mid section.

Some Iroquoian tribes made dugouts from a complete tree trunk; after felling the tree the interior was carefully burned and scraped away using stone tools or even large sea shells.

Answer 3

They used stake wood and birch wood bark.

Answer 4

birch tree

Answer 5

yes