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Last Modified 7/22/2008 |
AMNH TREASURES: HAIDA CANOE
This is an outstanding example of the exceptional canoe-building skills of the Indians of the Pacific Northwest. The sixty-three-foot-long, seaworthy canoe was built in 1878 by the Haida, who are native to the Queen Charlotte Islands off British Columbia. Canoes were an essential part of life for the Indians of this area, and were used for traveling to ceremonies, for trade, and for war. In this display, created in 1910 by George T. Emmons, who explored the Northwest Coast for the Museum, the Indians are depicted arriving at a potlatch — a grand ceremonial feast. The two men with long poles at the front, as well as the paddlers on the sides, are captured slaves.
The Haida Canoe was carved from a single piece of wood, the trunk of a large cedar tree. Although the trunk was only eight feet in diameter, the shipwrights softened it with boiling water and widened it to make the canoe eight-and one-half feet wide. The front of the canoe is decorated with a carving of a wolf and a painting of a killer whale. The carved decoration is more typical of the Bella Bella Indians than the Haida, and implies that the canoe was sold to a Bella Bella chief, who added his own embellishments. No matter who is responsible for its individual components, the Haida Canoe is a masterpiece of artistry and virtuoso building, and remains one of the Museum's most popular exhibits.