Model Canoe

This object appears to be a model of a racing canoe. Anthropologist William Elmendorf notes that: “Most fathers made play canoes for their young sons. Boys played with these in the water from the age of four or five. According to HA [A Twana man] the device was ‘useful to teach kids how to paddle and how to manage a canoe’ (Elmendorf 1960:227).”

woodworking; racing canoes

Carved model canoe with ten wooden paddles. The canoe is long and narrow with twelve wooden dividers and eleven benches inside. The ends of the canoe are raised; the pieces were made separately and attached to the canoe. The stern ends in a triangle with one added piece. The bow ends in tiny overhanging triangle with two added pieces. The inside of the canoe is blue with unpainted benches and dividers. The outside of the canoe is white and red. On both sides the name "Mermaid" and "Galiano B.C." are painted. The paddles are painted red, white and blue (parts b-k).