Our Canoe

Explore knowledge, words, images and teaching about our canoe.

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In the spirit of language reclamation and preservation, use the “listen” function throughout this site to hear the X̄á’islakala language pronounced out loud.

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Our Ways of Knowing and Being

Creating and carving our canoe is hard work and takes time and patience. We take this responsibility seriously. What we learn or receive, we give back. Our carvers and builders learned from those before them. Once a skill is mastered, we share that knowledge.

Wooden fishing boats docked at a wooden pier, with one person standing and looking at the boats. Fishing nets are seen on the pier.
haisla-heritage-the-language

Treasure Our Language

Language revitalization and preservation is very important to us. Treasure X̄á’islakala, learn about the words related to our canoe, and how they are pronounced by our fluent speakers. We thank Elder Franklin (Jack) Nelson and Chris Wilson for sharing the meaning behind these words.

For access to a more extensive collection of vocabulary, visit the Haisla LanguageCloud Living Dictionary.

A document is also available with tips on hearing the sounds and sound combinations of x̄á’islak̓ala, so that you are able to speak, learn, and write-out the language more easily and accurately.

X̄á’islakala Reading and Writing Tips

Listen to Our Song About Our Canoe

We have been passing on our stories and teachings through song since time immemorial. Written and performed by Shelley Bolton, this is part of our oral tradition.

henéms gélw̓a hiligá q̓élgilas
Spirit Journey Canoe Song
By Shelley Bolton

Person in traditional attire, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and holding an item, stands indoors with another similarly dressed person partially visible behind.

Enjoy Spirit Journey-Canoe Song with Dancing

Our Honouring Animals Song is performed by Haisla Braid Group, as they bring many animals to life, from the duck to the Sasquatch! Singing, dancing and drumming honour our heritage and our oral tradition.

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Enjoy Our Gallery of Images

Learn more about our canoe tradition from our art and photographs. We thank Shelley Bolton and Cassidi Bolton for sharing their personal photographs. We thank Elder Franklin (Jack) Nelson and Chris Wilson for sharing their knowledge.

Click to enlarge and read more.

A large cut tree log laying on the ground in front of a white house with steps, windows, and a ladder. A chainsaw rests on top of the log.

A cedar log at the beginning of the carving process. It is roughly cut in the shape of what looks like a two-person canoe.

A person carving a large wooden canoe with a hand tool outside near a white house and leafless trees.

Carving, shaping and perfecting the canoe using the adze carving tool - more control and finesse than with an axe.

A partially built wooden canoe under a tent, with logs and other tools in the background.

The carving and smoothing is making the inside take shape!

A person stands near a fire and wooden logs, working outdoors by the water with trees and structures visible in the background.

The inside of the canoe is ready, the special rocks have been found so it's time to stoke the fire.

A group of people, one in a green jacket, gather around a beachside fire near logs and a lake with mountains in the background.

When preparing to steam the canoe, only rocks of the same colour are chosen. If they are different colours they will heat and expand at different rates and will crack.

A person tends a fire on a rocky beach surrounded by logs, with two people standing in the background near the shoreline.

When the rocks are the temperature, it’s time to move them over to the carved canoe.

A person uses a paddle to work on a large, hollowed-out wooden canoe near a body of water, surrounded by logs and tools.

Slowly and carefully - they are really hot! - the rocks are placed inside the canoe, where the water will begin to heat up.

A person wearing gloves and a hat uses a tool to manipulate steaming wood outdoors amid foggy conditions.

You can see that the rocks are working really well and the steam is accumulating!

Four people work on carving a large wooden canoe by a misty lakeside, with mountains visible in the background.

The man at the back with the cap is Bill Wilson and beside him is Bobby Stewart. They’re keeping a careful eye on rocks, water and steam - it’s looking good!

A person surrounded by smoke is seen working on a wooden canoe outdoors, with mountains visible in the background.

Looks like they have all the steam they need…and then some!

Four men stand around a large, steaming wooden container near a lake, enveloped in mist. One man is lifting a cloth cover.

Once the steam has reached its peak, the measured canvas is ready. It’s the right size to cover the canoe and keep the steam trapped inside. The crew is ready to spread the canvas over top of the canoe to trap the steam inside and let it do its work!

Four people, three men and one woman, work together by a large cloth near a calm lake with mountains in the background.

Once the steam has succeeded and dissipated, the canvas is removed.

A person carves a wooden canoe near a rocky shore, with a calm lake and forested mountains in the background. Another person stands nearby.

Now the rocks have done their job, and they are cool enough to be removed from the inside of the canoe.

Two small motorboats are docked along a rocky shore, with a calm lake and forested, mountainous backdrop.

Out for a lovely day of fishing on Kitmat River.

Two men standing on the shore next to a wooden boat with oars, surrounded by trees in the background.

Men with poles ready to go up the river against the current. The poles help in the deeper water.

A smiling woman with a headscarf sits on a wooden structure over a lake, preparing fish, with a forested shoreline in the background.

Sitting in the canoe, and gutting fresh fish for dinner. Delicious!

Wooden canoes and boats lined up at a dock with a person standing on the dock next to them. The water is calm under a sunny sky.

Freshly painted Racing Canoe docked by the Kitimaat Village Bay. You can tell it’s a racing canoe because it’s narrower and the seats higher.

Listen to Our Stories About Our Canoe

Enjoy a recording of this short story called “núyems HAIDA - A Story of the Haida”. Elder Franklin (Jack) Nelson tells the story in X̄á’islakala, while Jonathan Janzen and Chuck Murphey transcribed it so you can follow along!

núyems HAIDA - A Story of the Haida
Recounted by Elder Franklin (Jack) Nelson

X̄á’islakala and English Transcript
An elderly man wearing glasses and a camo baseball cap, smiling slightly.

Learn More About Our Canoe

Watch as Elder Franklin (Jack) Nelson shares his knowledge about our canoe, from its history, to carving and carvers, to its many uses.

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