How Did The Chinook Use Cedar For Canoe Building?

The Chinook people built canoes using cedar logs, either cut, found as drift logs, or salvaged from old growth forests along the Oregon and Washington coastline. Cedar is a versatile wood used by the Chinook people for various purposes, including building canoes and creating intricate artworks. The wood is lightweight yet strong, making it ideal for building lodges, totems, and canoes.

The Chinook people hand-selected cedar trees for building lodges, totems, and canoes, often wedged from the north side of the cedar. The Lewis and Clark expedition stole a Chinook canoe, a theft that has not been forgotten by the tribe. The native Western red cedar was ideal for building plankhouses, as it is strong, light, and rot resistant. It grows to 230 feet high and 14 feet in diameter and can be easily split into pieces.

The story of the Lower Columbia has always been centered on water and cedar. After the 2007 Source to Sea Columbia River Expedition, the native Western red cedar was prized for its strength, lightness, and ease of splitting. Chinook canoes had holes in the sides to put crossbars through, making it easier to carry them over one’s shoulders when on land.

The largest dugout canoes were built from red cedar, but other tree species like cottonwood were also used. Like other Northwest Coast peoples, the Chinook made their houses with red cedar wood from the forests, creating long, rectangular structures with unique features.

What tools did the Chinook tribe use?

Languages the Chinook spoke were WaWa and Kayikkee, the most common language spoken in the Chinook tribe is the Chinook language. Men wore breech cloth and woman wore cedar bark, and grass skirts, some people wore basket hats, in the rain they wore tule rush capes, and In the cold weather they wore fur robes and moccasins. Chinook Indians used spears for fishing, hunting, and protection, in war they also used bow and arrows. Their villages stood right along the river and the ocean so they had an escape route. Chinook Indians have a God named Neahkanie, God of Creation. They believe in spirits so Neahkanie was a spirit in a raven. If a man saw a raven it would give him good luck and strength. The Chinook people respected the Earth by only taking dead plants to burn because they knew the Earth is living too. There were 12 groups in the Chinook tribe and each group had a chief, the chief enforced rules for that group. A chief could be a man or woman but it was always a man. The oldest capable man in the family would teach the boys how to hunt, fish, protect, and everyday skills of a Chinook man. The oldest capable woman taught the girls how to make clothes, cook, and garden.

What is a Chinook canoe?

Chinook canoes had holes in the sides, to put crossbars through. This made it easier to carry the canoes over one’s shoulders when on land. Some canoes were over fifty feet long and carried twenty to thirty people, plus cargo. They were decorated with artistic representations of animals, either carved, painted, or waxed on the bows and sterns.

To steer one of their canoes, Chinookan people have one person sit in the back and use a paddle as a rudder, to steer the boat. Everyone else paddles while kneeling in the canoe, with their bottoms resting on their heels.

Generations of knowledge about the river went into how Chinookan people designed their canoes. They knew how to shape it to best keep the canoe afloat, knew which cedar trees made the best boats. This knowledge is something Lewis and Clark could not replicate or steal during their short trip to the area.

What did the Chinook build?

The Chinookan peoples of the Lower Columbia River built a variety of shelters, depending on season and purpose. The best known are plankhouses, post-and-beam structures built using Western red cedar posts and planks for walls, roofs, and sometimes floors. Chinookan plankhouses were part of a Native architectural tradition that in the nineteenth century stretched from southeast Alaska to northern California. There was considerable variation along the coast in house form within the simple parameters of a rectangular post-and-beam structure with planks for cladding and roofing. The planks were hand split from cedar logs or standing cedar trees, but how the parts were arranged varied.

Chinookan plankhouses were built over or in excavations between one to six feet deep. They typically were rectangular with gabled roofs, with doors usually at the gable end but occasionally on a side. Wall and roof planks were tied to the frame with cordage, with wall planks set vertically in trenches. In some areas on the Lower Columbia and elsewhere along the Northwest Coast, households owned more than one house frame, usually constructed and maintained in both summer and winter villages; tying the planks facilitated moving them from frame to frame. Early EuroAmerican travelers such as Meriwether Lewis and William Clark often saw what they took to be abandoned villages, with nothing but frames, but the people and their planks were simply elsewhere. Visitors also observed planks submerged in ponds, a practice no doubt used to drown vermin and to keep the planks from drying and splitting.

The houses were variable in size and internal layout. They were anywhere from 30 to 400 or more feet long and commonly from 15 to 30 feet wide, although the Meier house near Scappoose was 55 feet wide and others were probably as wide. The biggest houses were concentrated in the Wapato Valley (also known as the Portland Basin). Floors could be either earthen or planked. Smaller houses usually had open interiors, unless they were divided by mats hung from rafters. Larger houses were generally segmented, although the Meier house was open.

What are three interesting facts about the Chinook tribe?

The Chinook tribe was highly skilled around the water and became known as excellent traders because of it. They were less interested in war and more interested in ceremonies, such as the first-salmon rite, vision quests, and potlatches.

What are the two types of canoes?

There are two main forms of the canoe. The modern recreational or sport Canadian canoe is open from end to end; it is propelled with a paddle having a single blade. The kayak has a covered deck with a well, or cockpit, into which the paddler snugly fits; it is propelled with a double-bladed paddle. Other boats sometimes called canoes include the dugout (a shaped and hollowed-out log), or pirogue.

Columbus recorded the word canoa as that used by West Indians to describe their pirogue-like boats. The earliest canoes had light frames of wood or, for the Eskimo kayak, whalebone covered by tightly stretched bark of trees (usually birch, occasionally elm) or animal skins (the kayak). Others were made from pieces of bark sewed together with roots and caulked with resin; sheathing and ribs were pressed into the sheet of bark, which was hung from a gunwale temporarily supported by stakes. The birchbark canoe was first used by the Algonquin Indians in what is now the northeastern part of the United States and adjacent Canada, and its use passed westward. Such canoes were used for carrying goods, hunters, fishermen, and warriors. The craft varied in length from about 4.5 metres (15 feet)—6 metres (20 feet) being most common—to about 30 metres (100 feet) in length for some war canoes; sometimes as many as 20 paddlers were employed. The dugout was used by Indians in what is now the southeastern United States and along the Pacific coast as far north as modern Canada, as well as by peoples in Africa, New Zealand, and elsewhere in the Pacific. For use in the open sea, canoes were fitted with outriggers, or pairs of canoes were linked by spars (see catamaran). The early French missionaries and explorers in northern North America used birchbark canoes, as did the voyageurs and others later engaged in the fur trade, which required relatively large canoes.

Modern sport and recreation canoes are of varying size but are usually about 4.5–6 metres (15–20 feet) in length and about 85 cm (33 inches) in breadth. Depth is about 30 to 36 cm (12 to 14 inches), with the ends rising slightly higher. Canoes are made of wood, canvas over wood frames, aluminum, molded plastic, fibreglass, or synthetic fibre composites. The optimum material for canoe construction varies by the intended usage of the craft. Fibre composite canoes constructed of materials such as Kevlar offer excellent durability with minimal weight, making them well suited for canoe camping that requires numerous portages. Aluminum and molded plastic canoes are highly impact resistant and are used primarily on rivers where possible collisions with rocks and other submerged objects might damage a fibreglass canoe. Some canoes are designed or adapted to be propelled by a sail, and some aluminum and molded plastic canoes are made with square sterns to accommodate outboard motors. The introduction of the faltboat (German: Faltboot, “folding boat”) early in the 20th century greatly extended the use of the kayak for canoeists who did not live near water but who could easily transport the folded craft to water.

Why is Chinook called Chinook?

• Like several other U.S. Army helicopters, the Chinook takes its name from Native American culture and, specifically, the Chinookan People of the Northwestern United States.
• TheCH-47was designed to replace the Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave, which was retired from the Army’s fleet in the late 1960s.
• Veritol Aircraft Corporation, the original developer of the CH-47, was acquired by Boeing in 1960.
• The new helicopter was originally designated the Vertol Model 107 or V-107.
• Development work on the CH-47 began in 1958 and the Chinook took its first flight in 1961.
• That flight – and every other one since – has been powered by a pair ofHoneywell T55 engines.
• The “CH” stands for “Cargo Helicopter.”
• Originally fielded in the Vietnam War, the CH-47 has undergone a series of upgrades to increase lift and airworthiness in combat environments.
• Designed to carry about 36 passengers, one Chinook is reported to have carried 147 refugees in a single lift in the waning days of the Vietnam War.
• The CH-47 was one of the first two helicopters powered by a turbine engine. The other was the UH-1 Huey.
• The first fully-equipped Army Chinook, designated the CH-47A, entered service in August 1962 with a gross weight of 33,000 pounds.
• The Chinook is the U.S. Army’s only heavy-lift cargo helicopter supporting combat and other missions.
• Secondary missions include medical evacuation, search and rescue, parachute drops, disaster relief and aircraft recovery.
• The CH-47 is considered the “workhorse” of the U.S. Army helicopter fleet.
• The Chinook has several means of loading cargo including multiple doors across the fuselage, a wide loading ramp located at the rear of the fuselage and three external hooksto carry underslung loads.
• The Chinook’s ability to carry large, underslung loads has been of significant value during natural disaster and humanitarian relief missions.
• The CH-47 can lift close to 48,000 pounds at 4,000 feet and 95 degrees F.
• The helicopter flies with a minimum crew of three – pilot, copilot and flight engineer.
• Honeywell T55 engines have more than 12 million hours of operation under their belts.
• The CH-47F is considered the world’s fastest military helicopter with a maximum speed of 315 km/hr (196 mph).
• The latest version of the T55 engine –Honeywell’s next-generation T55-714C– generates 6,000 shaft-horsepower at sea level compared to just 2,050 for the original T55.; The Chinook is one of only two military aircraft developed in the 1960s still in production and service after 50 years – the other is the C-130.; Twenty-two countries currently fly the CH-47 Chinook. The U.S. Army and U.K. Royal Air Force are the two largest operators.; The CH-47F upgrade program included the installation of a new digital cockpit and modifications to the airframe to reduce vibration.; Boeing and Honeywell developed an advanced digital cockpit equipped with multifunction liquid crystal displays and electronic flight instruments.; The Chinook is capable of balancing on its two rear wheels, on the edge of a cliff for example, while still hovering in a maneuver called a pinnacle landing.; Empty, the CH-47F Chinook weighs 26,800 pounds.; The MH-47 is a special-operations version of the Chinook.; The Chinook has a mission radius of 200 miles.; A commercial model of the Chinook, the Boeing-Vertol Model 234, is used worldwide for logging, construction, fighting forest fires and supporting petroleum-extraction operations.; The newest version of Honeywell’s powerful, efficient T55 engine iscurrently being evaluated by the Armyto demonstrate its capabilities.; The newT55-714C engineoffers 25% better reliability, carries a 22% heavier payload and provides an 8% improvement in fuel efficiency.; It’s available as a new-production engine or as an upgrade for the T55-714A engine that now equips most of the world’s C-47 Chinook fleet.

Why is cedar used for building?

• Cedar is durable. Cedar thrives in damp climates, enabling it to withstand many conditions. Cedar doesn’t shrink, swell, warp, or decay even when there are severe changes in weather, which makes it such an ideal choice for exterior siding.
• Cedar is sound resistant. Cedar is a porous wood, which gives it the ability to absorb noise. This quality is one of the many reasons why it’s commonly applied to the exterior and interior of homes and buildings.
• Cedar is a natural insect repellent. The oil in cedar wood can control pests like termites, ants, moths, mosquitoes, and cockroaches.
• Cedar is naturally beautiful. As described above, white and red cedar have natural color combinations, so we typically just use a clear coat to magnify its natural color. Finishing can enhance the durability of your cedar wood even more with regular applications of sealer to help it retain its color and stability.

COMMON APPLICATIONS FOR CEDAR WOOD. Because of the many benefits of cedar wood, it can be used for a number of applications. Cedar is commonly used for the following building products:

• Log siding
• Tongue and groove paneling
• Railings
• Staircases
• Timber trusses
• Trim and corners
• Board and batten siding
• Heavy timber beams

What crafts did the Chinook make?

In the past, Chinookan communities appointed individuals to specific occupations, including artisans tasked with creating objects from wood, bone, stone, antler, and horn. These artisans created everyday objects like carved wooden spoons and bowls, or stone pipes and canoes embellished with artistic elements that gave them symbolic power and increased their value.The use of animal characteristics (zoomorphic) and human characteristics (anthropomorphic) reflect the Indigenous perspective of how a body is structured. Artists represent bodies with geometrical shapes or patterns (geometricized) often with skeletal or x-ray type attributes. Numbers that have importance to the Chinook, such as three and five, and mirror imagery (double imagery) are also prevalent.

Paint application on objects may indicate that the individual who made or commissioned the object had high social status. Black paint signifies the earth, while red represents the ancestors. Stand-alone objects that remained in place (in-situ) like carved stones, wealth posts, and burial canoes often served specific spiritual purposes and varied in scale depending on use, placement, and materials used.

• Greg Robinson Interview, 2012
• Johnson and McIsaac

Why is cedar used for canoes?

Harvesting and Processing Giizhik,. Northern white cedar is used for many parts of the canoe, most importantly the bimikwaanaatigoon (gunwales), the waaginaag (ribs), the inini-bagoog (manboards), and the waaganaawinzh (stempieces). Cedar is also used for making the sheathing that prevents passengers from placing their feet directly onto the birchbark skin of the boat. Cedar is naturally resistant to rot, and straight grained cedar can be bent exceptionally well after soaking and steaming.

Wayne looks for mature trees that have grown straight (i.e., not twisted) and that do not have side branches (which cause knots) for at least a length of five feet. When a suitable tree is felled, a workable length of trunk is taken and split repeatedly to produce a series of thick rough-cut boards. By splitting the trunk pieces with a hatchet or by hand, Wayne ensures that the grain runs continuously from one end of the board to the other. This continuity of grain will prevent the boards from cracking during the bending process, and over time as they age. Although the boards are initially split by hand, Wayne then uses an electric planer to reduce the width of each board to a workable thickness. Lower quality cedar stock is planed down even thinner to form the sheathing. Traditionally, this process was done using the waagikomaan (crooked knife), which is still an essential tool during many parts of the canoe-building process.

As with the birch, the parts of the cedar that are not used in the boat are left to dry out in the forest. As Wayne says, “The forest is my lumber yard; I can go back to that tree later and harvest the things I need from it at that point, like wood to make my ricing sticks.”

What is special about Chinook?

The H-47 Chinook is the heavy-lift helicopter of choice for the U.S. Army and 20 international operators. It is an advanced, multi-mission, tandem rotor helicopter, proven in cargo and troop transport, search and rescue, casualty evacuation, special operations, humanitarian and disaster relief, and more.

The tandem rotor design provides for increased stability and control, maximum agility, ease of loading and unloading and superior performance in wind. The Chinook can operate where others cannot. Rear ramp access on any terrain is not restricted by tail rotor clearance, allowing tandems to operate on unprepared, mountainous positions and execute the unique pinnacle landing capability. The design also allows the Chinook to fly at up to 20,000 feet, higher than other helicopters in its class.

It contains a fully integrated, digital cockpit management system – the Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) Cockpit paired with a Digital Automatic Flight Control System (DAFCS) – as well as advanced cargo-handling capabilities that complement the aircraft’s mission performance and improve situational awareness.

What is the Chinook used for?

The H-47 Chinook is the heavy-lift helicopter of choice for the U.S. Army and 20 international operators. It is an advanced, multi-mission, tandem rotor helicopter, proven in cargo and troop transport, search and rescue, casualty evacuation, special operations, humanitarian and disaster relief, and more.

The tandem rotor design provides for increased stability and control, maximum agility, ease of loading and unloading and superior performance in wind. The Chinook can operate where others cannot. Rear ramp access on any terrain is not restricted by tail rotor clearance, allowing tandems to operate on unprepared, mountainous positions and execute the unique pinnacle landing capability. The design also allows the Chinook to fly at up to 20,000 feet, higher than other helicopters in its class.

It contains a fully integrated, digital cockpit management system – the Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) Cockpit paired with a Digital Automatic Flight Control System (DAFCS) – as well as advanced cargo-handling capabilities that complement the aircraft’s mission performance and improve situational awareness.