NOVEMBER 1, 2001
Smoke Signals 3
i99
Tony Johnson is
carving a canoo for
the Fort Clatsop
national Memorial.
By Chris Mercier
ji jV ribal Language and Cultural Specialist
Tony Johnson can list animal figures,
L-J bowls, spoons and in some degrees Totem
poles to his accomplishments as a woodcarver. Then
why on Earth would he approach his latest ven
ture, a 24-foot canoe, with the same insecurity usu
ally reserved for novices?
"There are lots of tricks and nuances," said
Johnson, a member of the Chinook Tribe of south
western Washington. Johnson works for the
Grand Ronde Tribe as the Culture department's
Language Specialist. "I think it takes a good 20 to
30 years for a guy to get his confidence."
And Johnson, well known among Tribal mem
bers for his devotion to Native ways and traditions (he speaks fluent
Chinuk), has a mere ten years of carving experience under his belt. He
has witnessed the laborious process of canoe-making firsthand and this
particular project will be his and his alone the first solo effort.
Folks from the Fort Clatsop National Memorial near Astoria contacted
Johnson years ago about carving a canoe for them. After finding a suit
able log last year he agreed, but under the provision that the canoe would
be a living one that they would use it and not just display it.
"No point in making a canoe just for show," said Johnson. "That would
be a waste of a tree."
The project has consumed many weekends and evenings the past year,
when Johnson had the opportunity to devote some time to it. The canoe,
which he hopes will be completed this fall, began its long life as western
red cedar, old growth in fact, from the Sweet Home area. Cedar, Johnson
claimed, remains the logical wood of choice, for the lightness and the buoy
ancy. Yet chancing upon the tree was no easy task.
"It (western red cedar) is very hard to come by," said Johnson. "The
quality over the last hundred years has diminished."
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This is a model of what the canoe will look like.
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Weekend Project Chinook Carver Tony Johnson has been devoting his non
working hours to carving this 24-foot canoe out of an old growth western red cedar log
from the Sweet Home area. Johnson is carving the canoe for the Fort Clatsop National
Memorial. Johnson said he wants the canoe to get used, not just displayed.
"Ho point in mailing a canoo
just for show. That vould ho
a rasto ol a troa."
Tony Johnson, carver
Under the agreement with Fort Clatsop, a 60-foot log was obtained and
that was enough for two canoes one for them, and one for him. The log
was moved by truck to his home in Sheridan and the rest has been, as
Johnson would say "patience and repetition."
Johnson's fervor for woodcarving began over ten years ago in Seattle
while a student at the University of Washington working on a degree in
metalsmithing. His father's cousin was known to be heavily involved in
carving and Johnson contacted him in hopes of learning. Since then,
woodcarving has become one of his most revered hobbies, to which he has
devoted innumerable spare hours.
The canoe could be the ultimate work thus far in his "new" carving
career. He has used primarily handmade tools and the project has taken
a considerable physical toll.
"Physically," said Johnson. "This will wear you out."
This summer's heat in Sheridan added to the exhaustion factor, enough
that Johnson saw fit to relocate the canoe to Astoria to complete it. In
former times, he tells, a canoe would usually be carved near the site of the
felled tree, or if convenient, in close proximity to water. Laboring under
the sweltering mid-valley sun has taught him why.
The end of the carving, of course, will not mark the end of the project.
Johnson would never have secured a reputation as a purist had he not
been devoted to doing things the "old way" (read: the hard way). Making
the canoe shipshape will be another bit of work.
In order to give canoes their trademark curve one requires unique tra
ditional technology. First, Johnson explained, he must fill the inside with
"four fingers of water." Second, he must heat up a batch of fist-sized
stones in a nearby fire pit. Adding the stones to the water inside and
covering the canoe to keep steam in, the sides and bottom will warp out
wards, enough to expand it to 150 percent of the original size.
"When it's wider," Johnson explained. "It won't tip as easy."
A torch is applied to the exterior, in order to harden the surface. And to
waterproof, oil must be rubbed all over.
A traditional Chinuk canoe, said Johnson, would typically be black out
side and red inside. When
treated and completed with bow
and stern pieces, Johnson esti
mates the piece to weigh
roughly 200 pounds.
Next, using the remainder of
the original log, Johnson will
start on his own canoe, with
probably a little rest in between.
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Hand Held - These are the
carving tools Johnson is using to
create the cedar canoe.
Photos by Willie Herder