Traditional Transportation

The Snowshoe

The Dene framed two types of snowshoes – for hunting and for making trail. They were hand-shaped from birch with babiche webbing. Hunting snowshoes were long and narrow. Trail snowshoes, designed to pack trails for sled dogs, were wide and round.

The Dogsled

There are two traditional styles of dog sled used in the Northwest Territories. Today, snowmachines usually pull these sleds, but most communities still retain at least a few dog teams, more for sport than long distance travel. For sport, they often use a third sled design, a racing sled.

On the Arctic coast and islands, flat sleds with runners are made of pieces of wood lashed together. The whole sled flexes in rugged sea ice conditions. In the forested region, oak toboggans with a canvas carry-all are still popular. The coastal-style sleds were pulled by dogs in a fan hitch, with each dog hitched to the sled individually. Toboggans, designed for woodland trails, were pulled by five to seven dogs harnessed in single file.

The Birchbark Canoe

In the past, the Dene travelled in hand-crafted canoes made of tree bark. These canoes were relatively quick to make, lightweight, easy to maneuver and portage.

The Qayaq (Kayak)

Traditional qayaqs had a complex wooden framework with a covering of stretched sealskin. They were used by the Inuit and Inuvialuit for hunting sea mammals.