Students at École Notre-Dame-du-Sault think they are building a canoe this week, but the Métis man passing down his skills says they are actually learning about history, community and respect.
Christian Pilon is an Ottawa-based canoe builder who travels across Ontario to teach traditional canoe-building techniques to people of all ages and all walks of life.
He has built canoes of all sizes, but for this week’s build the students are working on a miniature version.
On Monday he began by teaching the students from Grades 4 to 8 how to safely use the hand tools needed for the build.
“They get to learn how to use them properly so they don’t hurt themselves and there are no electrical tools,” said Pilon.
He adds, “the first thing they do is grab the tools that at home they are maybe not allowed to use."
The students are then introduced to the building materials — birch bark for the exterior, cedar for the interior and spruce roots for the binding.
Pilon then splits the different tasks up between the children, making them experts in one aspect of the build.
“If they want to build the canoe, they have to come together. It makes a community stronger,” said Pilon.
Traditional teachings and songs are introduced throughout the week, and students from the younger grades come by to learn from Pilon, as well as from the older students.
“We’re here to alleviate some of the stereotypes and racism as well,” he adds.
Gabriel Guindon, a grade 6 student working on the canoe, said it has been a great experience that has helped bring him closer to his own Anishinaabe culture.
Students of all backgrounds have been eager to work on the canoe, said Pilon.
“They are here all the time. They are here at lunch time, at break time and after school,” he said.
For Pilon, the entire process of building the canoe is about respect.
“If you give the kids respect, they give it back to you. What’s most important in all of this is they need to be heard, and that’s what they appreciate. We sit down, we listen. Everybody has a chance to speak and to be heard,” said Pilon.
That respect also applies to the tools and materials used in the build.
Students are taught about the parts of the canoe, which Pilon likens to the human body, with its own skin, ribs and tendons.
The gum used to seal the canoe represents the blood, as it is made from tree sap — which Pilon calls the ‘blood of the tree’.
It is then heated and mixed with ash and bear fat to create a watertight seal.
The finished canoe will be presented to the school during an assembly tomorrow and will be on permanent display at the school.
“The canoe has its own spirit, but they are the caretakers of this canoe,” Pilon.
If taken care of, an expertly-made canoe can last 100 years or more. Pilon hopes the students who built it can come in 50 years or more and remember the hard work they put in this week.