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Turning A 25-Foot Sitka Spruce Log Into A Canoe

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Published Date

September 19, 2021
This spruce log is about to experience transformation from log to tradional dugout canoe over the next few months/Tommy Joseph

This spruce log is about to experience transformation from log to traditional dugout canoe over the next few months/Tommy Joseph

Two Tlingit artisans will be working in the coming weeks to turn a 25-foot-long Sitka spruce log into a traditional dugout 'work' canoe at Sitka National Historical Park in Alaska.

Park maintenance crews needed some heavy machinery to haul the log into the park's carving shed. Tommy Joseph (Naal’xák’w) and his apprentice, Tim Flannery (Gaanax aya yáada), will be turning that log into a canoe.

A work canoe is less ornamental than ceremonial canoes and are built for daily activity that require it to be sturdy for extensive travel and well balanced to carry gear, fishing nets, hunting equipment, or supplies.

“Think of it as the Ford or Chevy of canoes,” Joseph said recently. “No artistic painting or carving will be added, it’s all about function.”

Joseph's apprentice, Tim, comes from the Gaanax.ádi Raven clan, Mink house. He is a young Tlingit carver from Ketchikan, working with Joseph to further develop his skills in the art of canoe carving. Flannery has carved smaller canoes, and has navigated in canoes to celebrations, but this is his first time carving a canoe of this magnitude. Apprenticeships like this offer an incredible opportunity perpetuate an art form that is central to southeast Alaska Native Culture.

Together the two artisans will create a seaworthy work vehicle much like the vessels of ancestors’ past. The two plan to be in the carving shed most weekdays from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., and occasionally on weekends until the project is complete.

Visitors are welcome to come watch the carvers work, ask questions, and watch the canoe take shape in real time. You can also follow their progress on the park’s social media pages, where the park will highlight milestones in the transition from log to canoe.

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