15 Indigenous in Trades Paddles

Traditional War Canoe Race Paddle

To Indigenous people, cedar wood symbolizes Life. It symbolizes that life is sacred and not to be taken for granted. When building with cedar, the Indigenous people believe the wood is to be treated as the life that it is, a being that has feelings and a being that is to be respected.

Camosun College, summer of 2023, features paddle building in their Indigenous People in Trades course. They will be building 12 paddles, 2 of 6 designs. Red cedar and Yellow cedar will be used, interchanged on the paddle. I went over the build of the paddle with Frances Wilson, who will be teaching and building alongside students. Frances was born and raised in Cowichan on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. He has participated in traditional water sports with the Cowichan Canoe Club since he was nine years old. He would spend every summer traveling and competing across the Coast Salish Territories. Frances has been building paddles nearly his whole life, grateful to have learned from his father at a very young age.

Frances and I discussed measurements and significance. Frances told me how the paddles are a replica of the traditional one-piece, deep in water, long distance paddle. Often the paddles are made without specific dimensions, and just sanded into shape, but for the sake of consistency, these paddles will go by the following dimensions:

Full Length Paddle: 5 ft
Blade Width: 6 ½ inch
Over all Thickness: 1 ½
Handle: 3 inches

Directions:

Step 1

Layout interchanged
Red and Yellow Cedar.
Blocks of wood are
placed where they
needed, on a flat
surface, in the desired
order and placement.

Step 2

3 ¼ inch spade drill bit
used on handle with
drill press, to insert
paddle shaft.

Step 3:

Held together
with wood glue, then
clamped.

Step 4:

After 24 hours,
wood is cut close to
shape with miter saw.

Step 5:

Use block
plane to shape

Step 6:

Sand to
remove plane marks
and achieve desired
finish

Step 7:

wipe down
and stain

Frances Wilson

Strategic Plan 2023-2028 Camosun College

The Spirit of Camossung represents the concept of transformation as told through the Songhees legend of Camossung — where two waters meet and are transformed. In the legend, Halyas, who is said to be a transformer being, turned a young girl, known as Camossung, into stone and cast her into the narrows, near where the Tillicum Bridge is located today. After her transformation, the Spirit of Camossung
was believed to be a protector of those traveling by canoe through the Gorge to the Portage Inlet and was able to grant powers to those who swam in the narrows.

In the image, Camossung is shown gesturing the ‘raising of hands’ to honour and acknowledge the ancestors and give thanks for the ancestral lands. Above her head, she is holding six individual paddles each with a traditional symbol to represent the six priorities of the college’s strategic plan. The paddles in the strategic plan image are another reference to the legend of Camossung and are also intended to represent the notion of the college community ‘paddling or pulling together.’ Created by local artist and alumni Dylan Thomas, the image is a modern example of traditional Coast Salish art, iconography, and semiotics.

Strengthening the Camosun Advantage – Thunderbird

The Thunderbird is known for its strength in Salish culture. In one Cowichan legend, the Thunderbird is the only one strong enough to defeat the supernatural Orca that was eating all the salmon and causing a famine.

ÍY,ĆȺNEUEL OL: Doing Good Work Together – Hands Together

Two human hands come together to complete a single design. This symbolizes the teamwork that is necessary to keep any community healthy

Responding to Community Needs

The eagle is known as mediator between earthly and spiritual realms, bringing the prayers of people to the ancestors.

Rising to the Challenges of Climate Change

The salmon are a symbol of the prosperity that a healthy environment can provide for its inhabitants.

Honouring Indigenous Resurgence

The ancestor represents the traditions and knowledge that the current generation of Indigenous Peoples is fighting to revive.

Advancing Social Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

The supernatural mink has the ability to shapeshift and represents the diversity of human beings that share this planet.