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A new exhibit at the Remai Modern museum showcases the role canoes have in Indigenous culture through the process of making one.
Kelly Tolley, the program guide for the Canoe 2.0 project, said a previous canoe exhibit was showcased last year at the museum, which brought in 18th- and 19th-century paintings. It’s part of the Indigenous program guide at the Remai Modern that aims to revitalize Indigenous art.
“In those paintings you could see the relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people … and in all these paintings, they had the canoe,” Tolley told Gormley on Thursday.
This year, for Canoe 2.0, a real birchbark canoe is being built on the third floor of the museum by Algonquin canoe maker Pinock Smith, from Kitigan Zibi, Que.
You can learn about the process of making a birchbark canoe through Pinock Smith
It’s part of a new exhibit at the Remai Modern pic.twitter.com/hWGByyo0cJ
— Mia Holowaychuk (@miaholoway) August 25, 2023
Smith said the most difficult part of canoe making is getting the material to build it with, and because of climate change, it can be difficult to find quality bark to work with.
Smith said once the materials are gathered, the canoe itself has a very simple design.
The canoe being built is 13 feet long and isn’t made with any glue, nails or varnish — just folding the bark.
Tolley said around 90 hours and a full week have already been invested in the project, and there’s still about another week to go.
She said people can come by to participate in canoe making and learn from Smith about the importance canoes had before Canadian roads were built.
“Making people realize the ingenuity and intelligence that went into this simple vessel gives me pride in my ancestors, and I hope it opens the eyes of people to see that,” Smith said.
Canoe 2.0 will be at the Remai Modern until Sept. 10.
The Canoe 2.0 exhibit is being built by Algonquin canoe maker Pinock Smith at the Remai Modern museum. (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)