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All About Haida Canoes

© Mary M. Alward

The Haida were one of Canada's early native peoples. They've lived along the west coast for hundreds of years. The Haida depended largely on the cedar tree to make their houses, clothing and weapons. Without the cedar, the Haida would have died out.

The Haida also used the giant cedar trees of the northwest coast to make canoes. These were very large canoes that were used to fish in the ocean. They also made war canoes from the cedar. Let's find out how one of these large canoes was made from a giant tree.

Cedars selected had to be large enough to carve canoes that would hold many men. After the tree was found, it had to be cut down without the aid of modern tools. The natives used only sharp, stone chisels to fell the cedars. Sometimes an opening was hollowed out of the base of the trunk and a fire started in it. Wet sand was then used to guide the fire through the base of the tree and prevent the sides from being burned.

Natives started the fires by rotating a pointed stick between their hands. This caused the point of the stick to burn in a hole that had been made in a piece of soft wood. Dry, shredded cedar bark was then laid around the hole. Friction caused a spark that would ignite these shavings. The flame was rapidly given more bark until the fire was started.

When the tree had been felled, it was shaped with adzes, stone hammers and chisels on the outside. The center of the log was burned and then hollowed out. The shape of the canoe was finished by filling the hole with hot water to make the wood soft and pliable. This made for easier shaping.

There were no pots for the natives to boil water, so the canoe was filled with cold water from the ocean. Stones were then heated in a nearby fire until they were red hot. The natives used long sticks to lift the rocks into the canoe. The continued to do this until the water boiled.

Once the wood was soft, cross pieces were inserted into the canoe to make the side wider in the middle and narrower at the ends. When the water was dumped out and the wood had cooled, the canoe retained its shape. The natives were so skilled at their craft that the joints of the bow and stern were difficult to see.