A small Paddlers team began this spring, traveling 1,200 kilometers per Canoa and Portage from Tadoussac, which., To James Bay. They will relive an old route tracked by skins merchants and indigenous guides centuries ago.
“We do not have great political statements in this expedition. We just want to meet people,” said Bruno Forest, author, Canoas Guide, event organizer and cultural mediator who directs the expedition. “We believe that canoe is a way in which the first nations and ourselves can meet in that field.”
The team “A La Mer du Nord” includes a central group of eight people from different communities and with several skills: a fisherman, a cook, a veteran, a journalist and guides of indigenous lands. Other rowers will join the group on several points along the way.
His trip began last Saturday and his goal is to get to Waskagank, a CREE community of Quebec from the North, in mid -August, making stops in several indigenous communities.
For the forest, simply traveling the route is not enough: he wants to deepen the connection with the old knowledge, reminiscent of skins merchants. To achieve this, he collaborated with Lionel Tremblay and Allain Gallant de Les Canots Tremblay to build traditional cedar canoes.
“The moment of the wooden canoes is passed. But the artisans who built them, the youngest of them is 80 years old today, and the older one is 95. Therefore, it is a very old and precious knowledge,” said Forest.
Canoas are heavier and more fragile, but they move silently on water, which does not scare the fish.
“It is a work of art. There is something that we cannot quantify … with the wood, with the beauty of the canoe, of nature. And there is a poetry and that, and I think it is a value in itself,” said Forest.
George Diamond, who is originally from Waskagank and is part of the local elderly council there, appreciates the group’s efforts to return to the old commercial route of skins. For him, seeing others to take the drop offers the opportunity to reflect on the spirit of the shared roads and the shared past.
“The way I looked at this trip in Canoa, could be a reconciliation project,” Diamond said. Plan to organize a welcome event for the brigade in Waskagank.
Proud legacy of the creation of canoes
Diamond says the trip shines the light on the cultural pride and the legacy of the creation of canoes in its region.
“We are very proud of our history as creators of Canoas by James Bay, because that was the main means of transport in the past. Our people used our rivers as roads,” Diamond said.
Waskagank was home to the Rupert House Canoas factory, an installation operated by CREE that prospered in the mid -twentieth century. This factory produced large wooden and canvas load canoes.
“All these rowing routes, our ancestors and travelers took together. There are so many of them. And this is only one of the main ones. Remobec,” Diamond said.
“This route was something that our people had to learn to survive [during] Skins trade “
Diamond also emphasized the indigenous peoples of work and knowledge often not recognized to commercial networks.
“Many people believe they went down the river were guides: they guided the first skins merchants and CREE did all heavy work,” Diamond said.
To reach the interior areas, skins merchants had to go through Rupert House, where Cree’s men collected supplies such as sugar and flour. Then they would transport these products to Nemaska Post and Mistissini, something they did for a long time in early 1900, according to Diamond.
He said he hopes to hear about the experiences of the expedition group this spring and summer.
“It’s not an easy trip … There will be some difficulties, but they seem so ready. I hope you succeed,” Diamond said.
He also expects the exchange to be mutual, that rowers recover not only memories but a deeper understanding of the earth and its people.
“We should learn from each other. I am sure that these rowers will learn a lot about our history as they row,” Diamond said, adding that tea, bannock and berry jam will wait for them when the brigade arrives at Waskagank.
The land is very different from what it was 200 years ago, according to Forest. He anticipates that the most challenging parts of the trip will be the cold salt water waves of James Bay and the winds strong enough to stop the group.
In addition, powerful upstream currents can force the team to carry instead. Since some Portage trails no longer exist, the team will need to reduce trees along the way.
“I see an expedition as choreography. When you are in the expedition, you simply achieve what was planned and deal with the things that were not scheduled,” said Forest.
The team will invite community members to a day of activities during their scales. Children and young people can try canoes, try the Portage team and learn about old skins trade routes.
“We always hope that people from different communities come to join us and share their stories. We bring what we have, but we also want to learn from people there,” said Forest.
“We can learn everything about this long story that the nation believes has with the canoes, brigades and nomadic trips.”
Forest expects it to be a “changing experience” for rowers.
“It is connecting again with so many important things in nature and culture,” he said.
