Edward R. Basset, Jr.
Canoe Builder
Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation
"Soon after I graduated from high school I moved to the reservation. I soon realized that there were no more living traditional birch bark canoe builders alive. By traditional I mean using NO MODERN MATERIALS such as nails or screws. This artform had died out sometime in the early 1800's. However, there was still one or two elders around who had experience building the more modern style of bark canoes (using nails etc). The modern bark canoe builders stopped using spruce root lashings and replaced them with nails and screws probably sometime in the late 1800's. And eventually spruce gum (used to make canoes watertight) was replaced with roofing tar. In the late 1970's I found no traditional bark canoe builders anywhere in Maine nor in the Canadian maritime provinces. My goal was to also bring back the traditional skill to the Passamaquoddy community".
Read More about Passamaquoddy Birch Bark Canoes.
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