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A most seaworthy vessel: The Nuu-chah-nulth canoe
When most people think of canoes, they think “tippy.” Unless, of course, they’ve paddled a Nuu-chah-nulth dugout canoe.
I was lucky enough to be invited to paddle with the Martin family, who live near Tofino, from Nanaimo to Vancouver in a 10 m (34’) dugout a few years back.
Yes—that same crossing that many of you have travelled on BC Ferries? Well, we paddled it!
To my surprise, the canoe was so stable that we could walk around in it. As Joe Martin (the man who carved it) says: You could have a dance in it.
The stability is a result of the great weight of a dugout—the big ones weigh close to half a tonne—and also how that weight is distributed.
When Joe and his brother Carl carve the canoes, they use an exact formula related to the length, making the bottom thicker than the sides, to keep the centre of gravity low and the canoe stable.
The route I paddled with the Martins was one of their easier trips, on the sheltered inside waters of Vancouver Island. But the Martins are Tla-o-qui-aht, one of the fifteen or so tribes that make up the Nuu-chah-nulth, and their territory is on the outside of Vancouver Island, from Kennedy Lake to Long Beach and through Tofino. They are quite comfortable paddling the rough outer coastal waters and landing through the surf.
Following the traditions of their ancestors, Carl and Joe Martin have paddled on numerous long journeys, from Tofino southward to Victoria and even to Neah Bay, Washington.
Traditionally, Nuu-chah-nulth canoes were to the Nuu-chah-nulth like what our motor vehicles are to us today. Just as we have motorcycles, cars, minivans and pick-up trucks—each designed for a specific purpose—there are Nuu-chah-nulth canoes designed for travel, fishing, whaling, freight or warfare. Many people refer to them as “war canoes,” but Joe Martin takes exception to that. There were war canoes, but the majority of Nuu-chah-nulth canoes were for other purposes.
Back in the old days, when the canoes really did serve as the native people’s “cars,” their parking lots were the beach-fronts in front of the villages.
A sketch from Captain Cook’s visit to Nootka Sound in 1778, showing the Nuu-chah-nulth canoes parked in front of the village.
Although the art of canoe-making has been lost by some tribes, the Martin family is one that really treasures this knowledge and keeps it alive. Carl and Joe Martin are recognized as master canoe carvers along the coast. In addition to carving canoes for their own Tla-o-qui-aht tribe, they have carved dozens of canoe for other Nuu-chah-nulth tribes as well.
Their canoes also grace collections in places ranging from Germany to Hawai’i. Joe’s daughter, Gisele, also helps to keep Nuu-chah-nulth canoeing knowledge alive by sharing it with the world. Gisele runs Tlaook Cultural Adventures, and offers canoe tours in the dugouts carved by her father and uncles.
Tlaook Cultural Adventures, based in Tofino, is one of the very few enterprises in North America that gives visitors a chance to paddle a genuine native canoe—not a fibreglass replica, but a traditional hand-made cedar dugout, crafted with a knowledge handed down over millenia.
This 3-minute video shows the Martin brothers at work, carving and steaming one of their dugouts on Chestermans Beach, Tofino:
- Photos, video & text by Jacqueline Windh©
