Canoe building over a year in progress

Alyssa Lentz is about half way through the construction of her first birch bark canoe thanks to some assistance from her father, canoe builder Darren Lentz.

“I kind of always wanted to build a canoe,” says the Grade 7 student and Eabametoong citizen. “I’m thinking about building (another) canoe next summer with a few of my friends and donating the money to Sick Kids (The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto).”

Alyssa began the project about a year ago when she was going into Grade 6.

“This is my first canoe that I built by myself but I have helped my dad with a few of his canoes when I was younger,” Alyssa says. “I don’t have much patience so it kind of teaches me patience.”

Alyssa says soaking the birch bark is the first step of building a birch bark canoe.

“Then you have to shape it, which was probably my least favourite part because you have to wait a long time,” Alyssa says. “And then you add the gunnels in (and the thwarts). And then you kind of shape the bark up a little bit and now I’m just kind of lashing it (together with split spruce roots).”

Alyssa and her father usually get the spruce roots and the birch bark from out in the countryside.

“I love picking spruce roots; it’s so much fun,” Alyssa says.

Alyssa initially had trouble when she began lashing the birch bark onto the gunnels with the spruce root.

“I got really confused,” Alyssa says. “It had to be one way and I didn’t know how to tie it off. But I’m getting pretty good with all that.”

Once Alyssa finishes lashing the birch bark onto the gunnels, the next steps will be the installation of the ribs and the sheathing.

“This is my first time making a canoe, but my dad is usually hard at work when he does it, so I’m guessing it is going to be a little difficult,” Alyssa says.

Darren says the ribs need to be bent into the proper shape for the canoe.

“It’s pretty particular as you’re getting them in there,” Darren says. “The sheathing is going to go from end to end all the way and then the ribs go from side to side to round out the bottom of the canoe.”

Alyssa prefers working on the canoe in the summer.

“Even though it’s hotter outside, it is easier to pick the spruce roots and to peel them,” Alyssa says. “Sometimes I get frustrated when I’m peeling spruce roots in the winter.”

Alyssa says she wasn’t interested in building canoes when she was younger.

“I used to get really bored with it,” Alyssa says. “Now I’m kind of more interested in it. As I’m getting older I’m kind of getting more interested in my culture as well.”

Alyssa initially worked outside on the canoe during the first summer, but she has since worked indoors on it.

“We usually keep it on this table but we had it hanging up there,” Alyssa says. “When we had parties we always had a lot of compliments on it.”

Alyssa says her friends were surprised when they first saw the canoe.

“My friend Alina was pretty amazed when she saw it at first, she was like: ‘Woah,’” Alyssa says. “She thought my dad was working on it and when I told her that it was my canoe, she said that was really cool.”

Alyssa is thinking about selling her canoe when she is finished working on it, but is not sure yet.

“I can always hang it up in my room, or something.”