Oldest Canoe Inspires New Canoe
21 Sep
A 180-year-old birch bark canoe has inspired a brand new birch bark canoe.
The well-traveled “Grandfather Canoe” made nearly two centuries ago by Maliseet First Nation craftsmen, thought to be the oldest extant birch bark canoe on earth, has inspired the latest canoe creation by contemporary Maliseet canoe builders.
As the Telegraph-Journal in New Brunswick reports, HERE, Maliseet craftsman G. Wayne Brooks, along with family and friends, has recently completed the Grandmother Akwiten Canoe which is a replica of the 180-year-old Grandfather Akwiten Canoe that was re-discovered at an Irish University a few years ago.
We’ve reported on the discovery and return of the “Grandfather Canoe” to Canada HERE and HERE, previously.
Brooks tells Telegraph-Journal reporter Chris Morris that the return of the Grandfather Canoe to New Brunswick has fostered a “spiritual awakening” among his people.
The Grandmother Canoe and a number of other birch bark craft will take to the water on Saturday in a ceremony on the St. John River in Fredericton, Canada.
