Discovering Ontario · Drawing 27 of 32
A Canoe at Fort William
Thunder Bay
A birchbark canoe rests on supports in this workshop. Wooden pieces strengthen its hull. Indigenous peoples invented this canoe, and the fur trade could not have worked without it.
Did you know?
Each summer, about 2,000 people gathered at Fort William. Canoes from the east brought trade goods, and canoes from the west brought furs.
Look together
Which pieces give the canoe its shape?
An idea to try
Draw a canoe hull, then add a few ribs inside.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
Fort William Historical Park interprets an important fur-trade meeting place. Indigenous technologies, knowledge and work were essential to that network. The canoe drawing suggests a demonstration workshop without reproducing one particular object. Canoe-building traditions also continue to be passed on today.
Sources and illustration notes (1)
Simplified interpretation for colouring. Settings and people may be combined or imagined. Details, distances and proportions are not a measured record of the place.
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. References identify the institution and the related lesson; some linked pages are in French.
- Fort William Historical Park: Our HistoryPlace, history or natural feature described on this page.
Page prepared on October 2, 2026. Illustrations are simplified for colouring.
This drawing is from the book My Ontario to Colour
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