Dugout canoes continue to fascinate me, as do Indigenous voyages of reconnection. Thus the 1990s journey of the Gli Gli, an Indigenous gommier canoe, in the Caribbean caught my attention. Gli Gli was the brainchild of two artists, one of whom was Kalinago and the other a white Virgin Islander, and the result of hardContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: Gli Gli and the Kalinago (Carib) Canoe Tradition”
Category Archives: Indigenous Builds
Clio’s Armada: Loo Taas and the Not So Lost Art of Haida Canoe Carving
One boat leads to another, and there is a remarkable cache of content for me contained in the records of Expo ’86 in Vancouver. The Golden Hind replica of London, Phinisi Antar Bangsa from Indonesia, the York Boats I know so well from Fort Edmonton Park and others. And, of course, famous Haida artist BillContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: Loo Taas and the Not So Lost Art of Haida Canoe Carving”
Clio’s Armada: Indonesian “Phinisi” and the Fyrstyx Legacy
Expo ’86 is not something in my own memory, although I was alive and only a dozen hours from Vancouver at the time. Strangely, despite often driving to visit relatives on Vancouver Island, my family didn’t go. Instead I formed connections with it through my work on Fort Edmonton park’s York Boat project (soon toContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: Indonesian “Phinisi” and the Fyrstyx Legacy”
Clio’s Armada: Mi’kmaq birch bark canoes and Todd Labrador
Two of my longed for Canadian pilgrimages (besides York Factory NHS!) is the Canadian Canoe Museum and Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site. The former because its obvious connection to my passions of fur trade history and boat history, and the latter because of how much they value Indigenous interpretation and crafts. And thatContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: Mi’kmaq birch bark canoes and Todd Labrador”
Clio’s Armada: The Dehcho Moosehide Boat and the Nahanni River
At the time of the build, a moosehide boat hadn’t been seen on the Nahanni in over a hundred years. The trade was not entirely lost, but the Dehcho First Nations were looking for a project that would share those skills and commemorate their past. Herb Norwegian was the visionary behind the project, but hisContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: The Dehcho Moosehide Boat and the Nahanni River”
Clio’s Armada: Hōkūleʻa and the Polynesian Voyaging Society
I’ve tried hard to devote serious attention in this blog to Indigenous boatbuilding and replica craft. And honestly, it hasn’t been difficult. Maritime Indigenous nations around the world have been using heritage boatbuilding as a celebration, as a chance to share skills, and sometimes to rediscover lost or endangered arts. One of the stellar examplesContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: Hōkūleʻa and the Polynesian Voyaging Society”
Clio’s Armada: Moomat Ahiko and traditional Indigenous planked canoes
The Ti’at Society of California built Moomat Ahiko, a ti’at canoe in the 1990s in the traditional manner of Indigenous peoples of what is now California. This type of vessel is unique in North America, having been called “…the single most technologically complex watercraft built in North America…” I saw a short documentary about thisContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: Moomat Ahiko and traditional Indigenous planked canoes”
Clio’s Armada: Métis Bateau and Fort Langley National Historic Site
Over the Winter and Spring of 2020/2021 Fort Langley National Historic Site contracted a Métis carpenter to help complete a new bateau for display in the replica HBC post. These bateaux were a go-to craft for the Hudson’s Bay Company tripmen in places such as British Columbia (then called the Columbia District) and northern AlbertaContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: Métis Bateau and Fort Langley National Historic Site”
Clio’s Armada: Ngātokimatawhaorua and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds
I spent almost two years in New Zealand/Aotearoa and found some magnificent examples of heritage boat-building among the Indigenous Maori and the settler Pakeha peoples. One of my favourite stories was Ngātokimatawhaorua, a waka (canoe), built in the 1930s. It taught me so much about how heritage boatbuilding can be meaningful to communities, both toContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: Ngātokimatawhaorua and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds”
North Wind Heritage Consulting 