First Nations and Inuit

Transportation

Demonstration of the traditional way to build a birch-bark canoe Copyright/Source		Demonstration of the traditional way to build a birch-bark canoe Copyright/Source

Without First Nations and Inuit technologies such as canoes, snowshoes and dog sleds, European exploration would have been impossible. Native people also taught European explorers how to survive in the Canadian climates.

	Round-shaped snowshoes are great for soft deep snow. For hard frozen snow there's nothing like long, narrow snowshoes with pointed ends.

Ancient snow-goggles used by the Innuit to block the bright sun Copyright/Source

My Eyes Are Killing Me!
Arctic summers have times when there is daylight 24 hours a day. The glare from the sun on the white snow when travelling great distances can cause snow blindness, which feels a lot like having sand in your eye. Ouch! The Inuit developed a special type of goggle to prevent it. They carved pieces of driftwood or bone to fit over their eyes and noses with only thin slits to see out of.

	It takes around 6 to 12 dogs to pull an Inuit sledge. The strongest dogs are harnessed in the front. Distance travelled was counted in the number of sleeps it would take to get somewhere.

	Rideau is the French word for "curtain". The curtain of water that forms the Rideau Falls cascades 30 feet into the Ottawa River at Ottawa, Ontario. Paddlers in canoes enjoyed the challenge of trying to squeeze through the space between the falls and the rock behind it without getting wet.