Chine bLog

Hopefully you enjoyed my last post on my first rental experience at the the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle. Let me now step back to some of the other treasures I saw there.

I thought they might have a Haida dugout canoe there, and I was itching to see a real one. They do not, though, have one. They have two and quarter. Behold.

They had one in the water; I am not sure if it is open for rent (though I will be asking next time). It is one fine-looking chunk of cedar, though, eh? I find these boats beautiful, not just for the lines, but also for the artwork. Native Northwest art is incredible, and seeing it on a boat is seeing it in a truly natural form.

The second canoe was up on land; not sure what its status is. Her artwork is well displayed, though:

Our good friend Gavin over at intheboatshed.net has score another great find. Thanks muchly, Gavin, for introducing us to Bob Holtzman and his new (I take it) blog "Indigenous Boats - Small Craft Outside the Western Tradition." All of a sudden we find our selves with lots of company here, but heck, if it helps elevate the treasures to be found in other waters, bring it on.

David over at Never Sea Land posted some great pictures from Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. There are a number of them and it would be impossible to highlight all the great boats in there. Just site back, scroll, and feel the love. I do recommend finding the Haida-style canoe - that is a nice traditional boat David shot among the classics.

I found this last night: Civilization.ca's section on watercraft built by Canada's First Nations People. For a web-based resource, it appears to have a nice overview of some traditional boats. I find these dugouts in particular to be quite lovely.

It also covers kayaks, umiaks, birchbarks, and other flavors of dugout. Seems to have wider resources for those interested in broader First Nations cultural info.

[By the way, the Canadian term for indigenous North Americans, "First Nations People," is just a heck of a lot better than our various forms. "Native Americans," while proper, seems bland. I am really curious why - and I have never heard - why those who created The National Museum of the American Indian wanted "Indian" in there. Seems a bit ridiculous to keep using a term that derives from a European guy's colossal navigational blunder. Don't get me wrong, I am all for self-naming, but I think we could do better.]

Location: Port Clements, BC, Canada