ELY – Work is underway once again on the birch bark canoe project at the Ely Folk School, offering participants handcrafting skills and more as they learn, in traditional detail, the many aspects of creating one of these remarkable watercraft.
While the first class was held last Sunday and the project is just getting started, work will continue through the duration of the class, scheduled to end on Sunday, Aug. 22, and perhaps even longer, if the weather cooperates. A $10 donation is requested for each class.
Canoe project classes meet outside on the lawn by the Folk School, at 209 E Sheridan St., each Sunday, 1-4 p.m., weather permitting. Community members and visitors are encouraged to stop by and watch and ask questions while the class is working on the canoe.
“Observing and learning the process of building a birch bark canoe gives people today an understanding of the past history, culture, art and craft that is embedded in the canoe,” said EFS Board Chair Lacey Squier. “It is also an inspiration for building your own canoe.”
Master Birch Bark Canoe Builder Erik Simula is leading the project.
“Our goal is to complete and paddle our 20-foot, traditional Ojibwe-style birch bark canoe, which is in its third and final year of construction,” he said.
Simula, a Finnish-American outdoor educator, has overseen the project the previous two summers.
“Because of COVID-19 the canoe was stored in the EFS garage for more than a year and is waiting for its day to greet the water,” he said.
A dedicated group of volunteers and new enthusiasts gathered in a steady rain Sunday afternoon to inspect the canoe.
“Besides lots of pigeon droppings deposited on the canoe, it looks like it is in pretty good shape,” Simula said. The group’s first task was to carefully carry the canoe to custom-made cradles outside for a good washing and cleaning. “The rain is actually helping. It is a watercraft, after all, and it will get used to being wet,” Simula said.
Simula noted that approximately 90 percent of the canoe was completed back in 2019 before the project was halted last year.
“Once we examine the condition of the skin and inventory all the pieces already constructed, we should have no trouble resuming the project where we left off and putting her in the water by the end of the summer.”
Folk school students completed a smaller 13-foot Ojibwe-style birch bark canoe under Simula’s guidance during his first summer at the EFS.
Simula is also the executive director of the Minnesota Canoe Museum here in Ely, and continues to promote its growth and exposure.
With extensive teaching experience at Voyageur Outward Bound School, Vermilion Community College, Ely Folk School, and the North House Folk School, Simula said he enjoys giving back to the community. He lives in Finland, Minn., and spent most of his 50-something years in the northeast part of the state.
“Canoeing has always been a big part of my life,” he said. “This community has great people and I’m glad to be a part of it. Ely has always been a special place for me.”
He has experience as a National Park Ranger at Grand Portage National Monument, wilderness mushing guide in Alaska, Lapland, and Minnesota, and as a John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon finisher.
In 2009, Erik and his dog Kitigan paddled a solo birch bark canoe around the perimeter of Northeast Minnesota on a four-month, 1,000-mile voyage, and he is currently writing of his travels in Arrowhead Journey, his blog.
“I am surprised that many people wanted to build a canoe from start to finish. It has been my experience that you just can’t build a canoe in two weeks,” he said.
Centuries ago entire Native American communities would be involved in the construction of their watercraft and the process would take several weeks at best.
“It was a family and community endeavor and they were skilled at it. It was part of their life and they were proficient,” Simula said. “There has been a large disconnect in the last 100 years or so, with the loss of many cultural skills and native knowledge.”
He added, “We draw a lot of interest. The people who have helped have great pride in what they are doing. There is a real cultural and community connection to constructing a birch bark canoe.”
Ongoing work this summer will include crafting with broad hatchets, draw knives and shaving horses, and using crooked knives to produce cedar gunwale caps, planks, and ribs.
He noted that this year, the project is receiving more assistance from class members and interested volunteers harvesting materials needed to complete the watercraft. Bear grease or some other type of animal fat is added to the cooked-down pitch and charcoal is added as a bonding agent, according to Simula.
“Even the best spruce pitch erodes and wears away. You constantly have to apply more, so we always need more spruce pitch,” he said. “Seepage is normal on a birch bark canoe. We put the word out and people just bring it in on their own.” As much as five gallons of the “liquid duct tape” will be needed for the project.
For those who cannot attend any of the classes, but wish to help support this project, please consider making a donation to the Ely Folk School for the BBCP.
For more information, go to www.elyfolkschool.org.