Jasper / Banff Canadian traditional crafts

[Thomascraft]

Hi BushcraftUK members,

I'm a British guy living in East Africa and loving my woodcraft. My wife and I are planning a trip to Jasper / Banff area in Canada next year to explore the wilderness. Knowing how much bushcraft skills and craft techniques have influenced the Canadian history I'm keen to learn as much as possible while I'm there. Does anyone know of any individuals still practicing these traditional crafts, or any places I can pick up some authentic examples of the hand made products or tools (mocotaugan crook knives, moccasins, 'kuksas', Karibu clothing etc). Not the mass produced stuff marketed at the tourists, I'd like to meet the maker, visit their workshops and directly support the continued practice of expert craftsman.

Thanks people, I look forward to engaging more with various forums.

TJL

 

[Robson Valley]

Hi
2017 is a centennial for our National Parks.
Go to the Parks Canada website and get a Free Pass to all the National Parks for 2017.
Do that now.

Bushcraft in the National Parks is frowned upon. You can do some in the wilderness campsites
from firewood but whacking your own trees will see you removed.
Probably run into more like-minded individuals in Provincial Parks and Provincial Recreation sites (primitive camping.)
You can camp just about anywhere on crown/public land for 14 days or less.
Leave your site spotless. Not a trace of your presence.

Don't shop for authentic native crafts in the National Parks.
The stuff is there but you will pay a premium price.
Instead, shop in the gift shops in Museums, and cultural centers.

Kuksa is a Scandinavian carved cup, not a Canadian native craft. Not as far as I know.
Instead, you might find an Algonquin native to show you how to make a cup from a folded panel from paper birch.

The Mocotaugan crooked knife is a feature of the eastern "birch-building communities". Think Ontario, Quebec and the northern US border states.
The Hudson's Bay Company was selling barrels of Sheffield UK-made blades by 1780 or earlier. Many natives made their own from files.
Articats with long & skinny tangs are usually file-origin. Sheffield tangs are wide and flat.

Here in the far west , west side of the Rockies, the art and carvings are dominated by the Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations peoples.
Places like Vancouver, even many of the BC interior cities, have galleries of genuine native crafts.
Clothing is harder to find and it will never come cheap. See Manitobah Mukluk for styles, etc.

Best bladesmiths in the PacNW would be Kestrel Tool, North Bay Forge and Cariboo Knife.
Sit down before you see the blade prices. But you get what you pay for. I certainly did.
Their products range from complete tools to the blades only and you do the rest.
It's still a native tradition to learn bladesmithing from an elder. Files and truck leaf springs are popular metals.

North of Jasper is the Willmore Wilderness, look into that region.

Don't know how much help this is but hope you enjoy western Canada.
It is not true that we have summer mosquitoes the size of bats. Not true.
It is -22C at the moment. -28C or colder again tonight.

 

[Leshy]

Hi
2017 is a centennial for our National Parks.
Go to the Parks Canada website and get a Free Pass to all the National Parks for 2017.
Do that now.

Bushcraft in the National Parks is frowned upon. You can do some in the wilderness campsites
from firewood but whacking your own trees will see you removed.
Probably run into more like-minded individuals in Provincial Parks and Provincial Recreation sites (primitive camping.)
You can camp just about anywhere on crown/public land for 14 days or less.
Leave your site spotless. Not a trace of your presence.

Don't shop for authentic native crafts in the National Parks.
The stuff is there but you will pay a premium price.
Instead, shop in the gift shops in Museums, and cultural centers.

Kuksa is a Scandinavian carved cup, not a Canadian native craft. Not as far as I know.
Instead, you might find an Algonquin native to show you how to make a cup from a folded panel from paper birch.

The Mocotaugan crooked knife is a feature of the eastern "birch-building communities". Think Ontario, Quebec and the northern US border states.
The Hudson's Bay Company was selling barrels of Sheffield UK-made blades by 1780 or earlier. Many natives made their own from files.
Articats with long & skinny tangs are usually file-origin. Sheffield tangs are wide and flat.

Here in the far west , west side of the Rockies, the art and carvings are dominated by the Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations peoples.
Places like Vancouver, even many of the BC interior cities, have galleries of genuine native crafts.
Clothing is harder to find and it will never come cheap. See Manitobah Mukluk for styles, etc.

Best bladesmiths in the PacNW would be Kestrel Tool, North Bay Forge and Cariboo Knife.
Sit down before you see the blade prices. But you get what you pay for. I certainly did.
Their products range from complete tools to the blades only and you do the rest.
It's still a native tradition to learn bladesmithing from an elder. Files and truck leaf springs are popular metals.

North of Jasper is the Willmore Wilderness, look into that region.

Don't know how much help this is but hope you enjoy western Canada.
It is not true that we have summer mosquitoes the size of bats. Not true.
It is -22C at the moment. -28C or colder again tonight.

You are so lucky ! You live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world and I just wish I could afford to move there...

By the way, if those doors and gates still need fixing , I'm well up for that!
I'll do it for free. 👍

all I need is enough room for a tarp and improvised shelter .
😀

Best regards

 

[Robson Valley]

Hi Leshy:

Banff and Jasper Parks are a gigantic chunk of the Rockies. I worked in those parks, many decades ago, Canadian Wildlife Service.
Campsite demand is crazy these years. You could slip over west and hang out in the Mt Robson Provincial Park. It's just shy of 13,000'.
That's an hour(?) east of my place.

Here's a tip: The Parks control where people hike and don't hike by leaving off some of the trails in the latest editions of park guide maps.
You gotta find the geezers and those with old maps to pencil in the missing trails. My brother has a set, going back into the 1960's, from
Prince Albert National Park. What a sneaky bunch of devils. Just look at the map at 10 year intervals!

It's so freakin' cold that my house has shrunk to the point that the front door won't stay shut unless I throw the bolt to lock it!
I'm feeding the Ravens dry dog food each morning. Too cold to even talk to me.
Longest cold spell here that most people can remember. Thank goodness for synthetic engine oil.
The 454 is hard to crank, block heater on every night..

Move here? There's no work. McBride is 550 on a weekend when all the work-aways are home.
Probably 100 that would move away if they could afford the gas.

Actually, we had a bunch of young Brits as work-away on some local ranches this summer.
They'd work in the village at the weekends (like for me), hard workers.
My doors & gates won't get touched until next spring, too much breaks in the cold.
Two nights ago, had an owl land in the 6" snow in my back yard, probably killed a mouse or vole.
Beautiful and deadly angle-wing pattern of the primary flight feathers.

 

[Leshy]

Hi Leshy:

Banff and Jasper Parks are a gigantic chunk of the Rockies. I worked in those parks, many decades ago, Canadian Wildlife Service.
Campsite demand is crazy these years. You could slip over west and hang out in the Mt Robson Provincial Park. It's just shy of 13,000'.
That's an hour(?) east of my place.

Here's a tip: The Parks control where people hike and don't hike by leaving off some of the trails in the latest editions of park guide maps.
You gotta find the geezers and those with old maps to pencil in the missing trails. My brother has a set, going back into the 1960's, from
Prince Albert National Park. What a sneaky bunch of devils. Just look at the map at 10 year intervals!

It's so freakin' cold that my house has shrunk to the point that the front door won't stay shut unless I throw the bolt to lock it!
I'm feeding the Ravens dry dog food each morning. Too cold to even talk to me.
Longest cold spell here that most people can remember. Thank goodness for synthetic engine oil.
The 454 is hard to crank, block heater on every night..

Move here? There's no work. McBride is 550 on a weekend when all the work-aways are home.
Probably 100 that would move away if they could afford the gas.

Actually, we had a bunch of young Brits as work-away on some local ranches this summer.
They'd work in the village at the weekends (like for me), hard workers.
My doors & gates won't get touched until next spring, too much breaks in the cold.
Two nights ago, had an owl land in the 6" snow in my back yard, probably killed a mouse or vole.
Beautiful and deadly angle-wing pattern of the primary flight feathers.

Hahahah, apologies for thread hijack ,
RV , you're a funny man, the thing is I know you're not even joking...
I imagine the type of place you're at , as a beautiful wilderness with miles and miles of just beautiful natural world wonders....
When in fact you describe the reality very well... I'd still move out there though.
Your description of MacBride is hilarious , 👍😊

Hope you're stocked up good for this unusual winter of yours...
Get yourself a couple of glasses of that good ol' scotch whisky and warm your cockles up my friend.
All the best

 

[Robson Valley]

I tell ya, this place is a stunner in any season. I made no mistake retiring here.
Plus, I promised myself that I would always look "up," and not take the scenery for granted.
Unemployment has held house prices down but we get new retirees from big cities and they have the bucks for anything.
McBride Realty Center has a good online website of houses/properties/ranches, etc. I bought through those people, good friends now.

The best strategy is to live just outside the National Parks. They cripple you with housing regulations anyway. Get a pass.
Whistle into the Park any time you like. The "Icefield Parkway" (aka HWY 93) between Banff and Jasper has to be the drive on the top of your bucket list.
I've done it dozens of times over 50 years. Never fails to enthrall me.

Speaking of whiskey, Crown Royal "Northern Harvest" Canadian rye whiskey was judged the best 2016 whiskey of some 1,200 entries.
A British list (Lloyd's?) and no Scotch has made even the top 5 in the past couple of years.
Gawd! I wonder how that guy's liver is making out. All I want for Christmas is a new kidney.

Anyway, I bought a 375ml yesterday ($20.00). 2oz over 4 cubes in a short glass, curved to hold the nose.
No screaming hell of a drink. Mild rye taste, I'd like that stronger, like Alberta Premium. But
it is slightly sharper than the Crown Royal 'Original' Lah - Dee - Dah Canadian rye whiskey.
That is just plain insipid. Add the cheapest cola you can find.

We used to tell people to visit Jasper and Banff in September. The leaves are coloring up and all the families have gone home.
Every geezer on the planet seems to have figured that out.
Spring is bleak, cold, windy and dirty after the ski season. October/early November can be just as bad or worse with mountain blizzards
that blow in , in minutes.

Having said all that, I'll say the best month in any of the Western region Nat Parks (Riding Mountain and west) has to be August.

 

[Thomascraft]

I tell ya, this place is a stunner in any season. I made no mistake retiring here.
Plus, I promised myself that I would always look "up," and not take the scenery for granted.
Unemployment has held house prices down but we get new retirees from big cities and they have the bucks for anything.
McBride Realty Center has a good online website of houses/properties/ranches, etc. I bought through those people, good friends now.

The best strategy is to live just outside the National Parks. They cripple you with housing regulations anyway. Get a pass.
Whistle into the Park any time you like. The "Icefield Parkway" (aka HWY 93) between Banff and Jasper has to be the drive on the top of your bucket list.
I've done it dozens of times over 50 years. Never fails to enthrall me.

Speaking of whiskey, Crown Royal "Northern Harvest" Canadian rye whiskey was judged the best 2016 whiskey of some 1,200 entries.
A British list (Lloyd's?) and no Scotch has made even the top 5 in the past couple of years.
Gawd! I wonder how that guy's liver is making out. All I want for Christmas is a new kidney.

Anyway, I bought a 375ml yesterday ($20.00). 2oz over 4 cubes in a short glass, curved to hold the nose.
No screaming hell of a drink. Mild rye taste, I'd like that stronger, like Alberta Premium. But
it is slightly sharper than the Crown Royal 'Original' Lah - Dee - Dah Canadian rye whiskey.
That is just plain insipid. Add the cheapest cola you can find.

We used to tell people to visit Jasper and Banff in September. The leaves are coloring up and all the families have gone home.
Every geezer on the planet seems to have figured that out.
Spring is bleak, cold, windy and dirty after the ski season. October/early November can be just as bad or worse with mountain blizzards
that blow in , in minutes.

Having said all that, I'll say the best month in any of the Western region Nat Parks (Riding Mountain and west) has to be August.

Hi Robson Valley,

Thanks for the info in the first reply, some slreally useful research threads to take forward. Specifics on the regions of origin are really useful and fascinating.

The National Parks in East Africa have similar restrictions on recreational bushcraft practicing so I'm familiar with that. Mostly when I travel I like to source some wood on arrival and just keep a couple of small projects on the go in the evenings so this is not likely to be a problem.

I've seen some kuksa looking cups from the HBC explorers (Rae, Hearne, Thompson) so thought similar styles might have existed across the boreal forest with different names, maybe these guys brought the design across the Atlantic and it never caught on.

Do you have any personal favourite local craftsman in the BC area? Do you have a portfolio of work you do yourself?

TJL

 

[Robson Valley]

TJL
You are most welcome. I've been in and out of the western region national parks for more than 50 years now.

I know nothing of the cups. North American First Nations were firmly entrenched in the stone age when the spanish
conquistadors showed up. No Copper Age, no Bronze Age, just WHAM = straight into the Iron Age with gunpowder, horses and all.
Ellsworth Jaeger (Wildwood Wisdom) illustrates the Ojibway folded birch bark cups, bowl and spoons = no need to carry anything.
Then he jumps directly to the tin trade cups. Nothing carved.
The standard in the birch-building cultures of the east were the Mocotaugan-style crooked knives. Not a blade which lends itself at all to carving a kuksa.

Exploration west on foot was rare. Several marine expeditions to the west coast found powerful and wealthy native people with a little experience already in
iron trade around the northern Pacific Rim.

There are 4 distinctly different carving styles in the Pacific Northwest. Fakes are easy to spot because the fools mix styles.
I like the apparance of the mid-coast style of art and carvings (the Kwakwaka'Wakw people.) Used to be called Kwakiutl but that's the language they speak.
Second for me would be North Coast = Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian. West Coast and South Coast styles don't appeal to me.

This is the middle of 3 carvings to illustrate the Haida legendary belief of Creation = "Raven Stealing The Light."
Raven has replaced six stars in the night sky, and the moon (bottom.) Raven carries the hot sun with flames all around
to go in the top black sky. Western red cedar, 19" high x 24" wide, Raven's beak extends 9". Quartz, abalone & mussel shell, yellow Calcite.

You would see a very strong Pacific Northwest influence in my carvings. Most of my life in the west.
I carve what I see in the wood. I don't need any other way. Mostly animals related to air and water.
I have several design elements that I try to include in every carving. They are things which no native carver,
in tradition, is allowed to do, eyes and feathers in particular.

Portfolio (very sore point) Yes, I had two. Woodcarving Illustrated (USA) lost every image they had in a massive hack. Then, Woodwork Forums (Australia) lost everything, as well.
Theoretical wood carving. Whole bunch of us got pi$$y and decided not to try to restore anything. I have a big gallery on line but I don't understand how too allow see-only.

 

[Thomascraft]

Thanks a lot! Even more to get my teeth into. Sorry to hear about your problems with online galleries, if you manage to solve something so you can send a link it would be great. Looking forward to the visit even more now!!