Kootenay sturgeon-nose canoe, MP 125, 43 1/4'' One ofthe most visually unique bark canoes is certainly the Kootenay "sturgeon nose, "used in British Columbia and Washington State by the Kootenay and Salish tribes. One theory on the shape ofthese canoes states that the available bark was not very manageable, and required a straight joint at bow and stern. The hogging seen in the model was also typical in the fol/sized version. In T he Bark Canoes and Ski n Boars ofNorrh America, Howard I Chapelle wrote: "These canoes paddled well in strong winds and in smooth water, and worked quietly in the marshes where they were much used. Canvas canoes ofthe same model replaced the bark canoes, indicating that it was suitable for its locality and use. " The hull ofthe model is a single piece ofspruce bark lasted with cane and root material. This is an example of a canoe Adney measured from the Victoria Museum in Ottawa. Conservators stabilized several areas including reinserting a rib back into position and retightening lashings around one ofthe stem pieces.
New Brunswick. Adney himself always ill(ended char his work would be used for educarional purposes and developed a collecrion of models depicring a broad range of cultural sryles creared co a uniform scale. While rhe collecrion illusrrares canoe consrrucrion rechniques for more rhan rhirry differell( cultures and spans a geographic range from Alaska co Newfoundland and New England, rhe canoes' mericulous uniformity of scale allows researchers co make rhreedimensional visual compariso ns berwee n culwres and rheir version of rhe canoe. Adney also included examples of canoes adapred by Europeans in rhe fur rrade, as well as chose of rhe Japan ese Ainu people and rhe Siberians, providing funher compari so n char in mosr circumsrances would have bee n highly unlikely. A collecrion such as chis is in effecmal, however, unless iris available for research and public display. Wirh chis in mind, rhe museum soughr and rece ived an Insriwre for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grail( co have rhe models co nserved. Following a survey of rhe emire collecrion, ir was derermined char rhirry-four of rhe models required specialized rrearmell( while rhe remainder needed only minor cleaning, repair and srabilizarion . In Ocroberof2000, chose models needing ex rensive rrearmem were sell( co rhe Canadian Conservarion Insrirure (CCI) in Ouawa while museum
SEA HISTORY 99, WINTER 200 1- 02
sraff in Newporr News began rrearmell( of research in a repon char accompanied rhe rhe remaining models under rhe guidance rransfer of his models co The Mariners' of conservaror Jan er Mason of CCI. Museum and asserred char rhey were of In addirion co rhe conservarion rrear- "[h] isrorically and erhnologically paramell(, each model was rhoroughly docu- moum imponall( [sic] by reason of rhe mell(ed and phorographed and rhen housed place of rhe Indian in American lirerarure, in specially designed boxes in an environ- hisrory, and marerial culrure; and rhe mell(ally coll(rolled srorage faciliry. In or- European's adoprion and adaprarion of der co complere rhe preservarion of rhe cenain rypes [of canoes]." Alrhough few emire coll ecrion, rhe museum's research could have been more passionare and delibrary is currendy seeking a grail( from rhe vored co a chosen field of smdy, Adney Narional Endowmell( for rhe Humaniries clearly undersrared his own case. aimed ar conserving Adney's papers. Edwin Tappan Adney gave voice co a The prorecrion and conservarion of ch is world rapidly facing exrincrion. Canoes marerial ensures rharAdney's body of work were his objecr, bur rhey were nor his end. will cominue co exisr. Ir is only rhe begin- They fascinared rhe anise and rhe engineer ning, however, of a massive efforr co ensure in him because rhey spoke of rhe perfecr char his educarional objecrives are mer. marriage of nature, form and function. In The museum hopes co accompli sh chi s goal his scale models , and rhroughour his parhrough a series of permanell( and rravel- pers, he creared a memorial co rhe pasr wirh ing exhibirions. The mosr ambirious effon rhe hope of seeding a future char would be co dare envisions a major porrion of rhe less mechanized and more deeply immersed collecrion housed in rhe museum's fonh- in and reflecrive of rh e narure of Nonh co ming Imernarional Small Crafr Cemer. America, like rhe narive Canadian and Visirors co rhe Ce mer will be able co expe- American Indian culwres he srudied in rience over 130 full-sized boars from aro und obsessive derail. 1, rhe world, as well as chis model collecrion, in a climare- and humidiry-comrolled study Lyles Forbes is Curator of Small Craft and srorage environmenr. Informarion wi ll be J eanne Willoz-Egnor is the head ofcollections available in a variery of formars for those management at The Mariners' Museum. eirher wishing co build a full-sized bark canoe, or simply have a ben er unders tand- The Mariners'Museum, 100 Museum Drive, ing of chose who fashioned chem. Newport News VA 23606; 757 596-2222; Adney described rhe signifi cance of hi s web site: www.mariner.org.
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