An Algonquin Dream Come True

A project to build a birch bark canoe unites communities.

By Matthew Brown

For Chuck Commanda and Christine Luckasavitch, an Algonquin birch bark canoe is more than just a traditional means of transportation. It is a link to the past and a way to bring communities together. Over two weeks in August 2022, the dream they had for nearly 10 years of building a birch bark canoe in Algonquin Provincial Park finally became a reality.

“I knew Chuck from him doing a couple of canoe builds in local communities. We became friends and were talking about how cool it would be to do a canoe build in Algonquin Park – most of which is unceded Algonquin territory,” Luckasavitch, Algonquin (and mixed settler ancestry) and Owner of Waaseyaa Consulting, said.

Commanda is the grandchild of Algonquin master canoe builders William and Mary Commanda, who shared their knowledge with him during his childhood in Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, in the Gatineau Hills north of Ottawa.

“My grandparents taught me how to build canoes. The first thing I ever learned to do was to knit snowshoes and then I slowly moved on to canoe making,” Commanda said.

After learning to make canoes as a youth, Commanda moved on to other work. Then, a twist of fate returned him to his roots: a car accident in 2007 injured his back. During his rehabilitation, Commanda began to make traditional Algonquin birchbark baskets. He got so good at it that the National Museum of the American Indian invited him to share his craft at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

“Once I got home, I got a call from my grandfather. He asked me if I could build him a canoe. He started a foundation called The Circle of all Nations and the theme for his meeting with elders that year was the watercraft,” Commanda adds. “I found the material and I built the canoe. He came over and he inspected it and gave me the green light. I knew then that the circle had become complete – I’m no longer the student; I’m the teacher.”

Luckasavitch and Commanda’s dream of building an Algonquin birch bark canoe in Algonquin Park came together with help. A key partner was Algonquin Outfitters, a fixture in the park that has provided equipment and supplies to generations of visitors.

“We wanted to do a project that involved the Algonquin community – that featured their people and their traditions first,” Brent Ellerson, Social and Community Coordinator at Algonquin Outfitters, said. “Since we are a canoe outfitting company 61 years strong that started right here at Camp Pathfinder in Algonquin Park, along with Christine and Chuck we felt an Algonquin canoe build was the right choice.”

Luckasavitch had worked at Algonquin Outfitters as a teenager and again when she returned from university. When Rich Swift, owner of Algonquin Outfitters, asked her how to engage with local Indigenous community members, she knew a canoe build would be the perfect answer. This August, working for one week at Algonquin Outfitter’s Lake of Two Rivers location, and one week at its Lake Opeongo location, Commanda built a canoe alongside Algonquin community members, members of other local First Nations, Park staff, and hundreds of visitors watched and helped.

“The two weeks of the build were incredible and absolutely moving. It’s been emotional on so many levels. There was a constant flow of all different people from all different communities,” Ellerson said.

Visitors who came to support to the canoe project included John Swick, Algonquin Provincial Park Superintendent; legendary park rangers including Craig MacDonald and Kirk MacEathron; Gord Cumming, Chief Forester at the Algonquin Forestry Authority; Kim Smith, Board Chair of The Friends of Algonquin Park; as well as Camp Pathfinder campers, staff, and owners, plus staff from Camp Ahmek and Camp Wapomeo.

The canoe project functioned exactly as intended, bringing together a rich mixture of spectators and helpers, including a mix of Indigenous and non-Indigenous friends, family and visitors to Algonquin.

“This entire project has been an amazing demonstration of community. Being on unceded Algonquin territory and being able to invite Chuck in, who is from an Algonquin community in Quebec, and have him teach members of my home community – it is the return of this practice back to my community,” Luckasavitch noted. “It is reestablishing connections and relationships that were almost lost.”

When the canoe was finally complete and touched water for the first time, Commanda couldn’t help but think of his grandparents and all the ancestors that helped that moment to happen.

“I feel them in every canoe build – my grandparents. I feel proud but still humble. I see articles and social media posts that give me so much praise and my reply is always to give most of the credit to my ancestors,” Commanda said. “When I start a canoe build, I always do a Smudge ceremony. I ask my ancestors to come and help me and work through me.”

Thanks to Algonquin and Indigenous community members, including Chuck Commanda and Christine Luckasavitch, Algonquin Outfitters, Ontario Parks (Algonquin Park), the Friends of Algonquin Park, Camp Pathfinder, the Canadian Canoe Museum, and Algonquin Forestry Authority.

This birch bark canoe will remain in Algonquin Park, where it will be shared for workshops, learning opportunities, and Indigenous community celebrations.