Haida Gwaii is an island group in the north pacific 60 nautical miles to the west of the Canadian mainland. The shallow Hecate Straight that runs between the Haida Gwaii and British Columbia is dangerous to navigate and required the Haida who live in the archipelago to develop oceangoing canoes that could cut through the waves and sharp oars that could slice through kelp beds.
The Haida became experts in the craft of building canoes and developed a reputation for being fierce raiders who pillaged coastal communities to the north and the south.
CANOES
All along the coast of Western Canada (wherever coastal red cedars grew) old growth cedars were felled in winter when the sap was dormant and then carved out with the use of fire, axes and the careful application of an adze, into huge canoes.
Fire was used to burn away the bulk of the inside material. When the hull was carved to the correct thickness it
