a selection of West coast Native American dugout canoe models

From the left is (1st pic) a 25" Yakutat Bay, Alaska, hunting canoe type, ca. 1920; (2nd pic) a 29" Haida or 'northern style' war canoe ca. 1850; (3rd pic) a 22" Nuu-Chah-Nulth (Nootka) sea-going whaling dugout; (4th pic) a 9" Yurok dugout, ca. 1940 used for river travel in US south-west. All hand carved from local wood with accurate details. Models like these were sometimes made as potlatch gifts, sometimes for tourist trade, or used as grease bowls and feast dishes. When properly and authentically executed, they provide an architectural and cultural record of native knowledge and skills which might otherwise disappear.