Mission Mishoon—The Dugout Canoe of the Pequots
In 1997, a 17 feet long, 2 feet wide canoe dating back to around 1670 was found floating in Curtis Pond in Waymart, PA, by a local who went fishing.
"People have called up saying thing like, 'I found a canoe like that in my pond and it's stored in my barn.' There could be many canoes out there...as many as one per pond," said Dan Perry.
Although the popular image of the northeastern Native canoe is one of birch bark, large white birch trees were not commonly found in southern New England.
Historical records note that the Pequots instead used dugout canoes, made from the hollowed-out trunks of pines, chestnuts, or other sizeable trees.
Seafood was a staple in Pequot meals throughout the year. The Pequots used a range of fishing techniques, many of which had been known for thousands of years, such as hooks and lines, nets, spears, bows and arrows, and wires, or fish traps.
Once the fish were brought home, they were cleaned and then boiled, roasted, smoked, or dried. Shellfish, dug in shallow water or collected off the beach, were cooked immediately or pried open, strung, and dried.
The Pequots caught eels with the help of woven woodsplint eel traps. At one end of the cylindrical trap was a funnel, and the eels, attracted by fish head bait inside, could swim in but could not find their way out. The other end of the trap had a lid that allowed the eels to be removed. The trap was weighed down with rocks, and a line was attached so it could be hauled out of the water.
In 1651, the 400 Pequots living at Nameag received permission to live on 500 acres at Noank. Noank was on the coast and provided access to fishing. But within a few years the soil on this small tract was depleted of nutrients---making farming difficult---and there was no more firewood. Noank proved too small for their shifting agriculture.
By the end of the 17th century, more English settlers had arrived, demanding more land. Gradually, the English took control of the most desirable land. By 1713, the Pequots lost Noank. Forced from their traditional coastal territory, these Pequots were left with an inland reservation consisting of rocks and swampland.
The first step was locating a suitable large tree, which was felled by burning through the base and using a stone ax to hack away the charred wood.
"I have seene a Native goe into the woods with onely a Basket of Corne with him, & stones to strike fire when he had feld his tree...," by Roger Williams, 1643.
When the log was sufficiently hollow, the final step was to use a scraper or quahog shell to smooth the canoe all over. The entire process for building an average-size of 12 feet long took one man about 10 to 12 days.
"...so hee continues burning and hewing untill he hath within ten or twelve dayes (lying there at his worke alone) finished, and (getting hands,) lanched his Boate," by Roger Williams, 1643.
A 36 feet long dugout canoe, which could hold at least 10 people, was made by Wampanoag canoe makers in the Pequot Museum from May to July, 2015.
Titled "Mission Mishoon," it is the largest dugout canoe made in southern New England for more than 200 years. It is made from a 70-year-old tulip poplar tree, also called "canoe tree," which was found in Ledyard, CT.
After it was made, the Mission Mishoon was launched into and paddled down the Mystic River, which connects three of the Nation’s oldest Indian Reservations, from the headwaters near the Mashantucket Pequot and Eastern Pequot Reservations to the river’s mouth where the first Pequot reservation at Noank was located.
Co-produced by Ashley Bissonnette, Christopher Newell, David Naumec, Jason Mancini, Jonna Chokas, Kevin McBride, and Yulun Huang.
Curated and created by Yulun Huang.
Image courtesy of The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Coastal Connecticut Magazine, Ashley Bissonnette, Clifford Sebastian, Michael Johnson, Owen McDonald, and Yulun Huang.
"MISSION MISHOON" PROJECT
Led by Darius Coombs and Jonathan Perry.
Supported in part by Katherine Raia and Ronstan International Inc.