Founders' Room Kayak Heading North

Old Sedberghians will be interested to know that the kayak which rested on the top of the cabinets in the Founders' Room and which had been given to Sedbergh years ago, has now been returned to the North, from where it originally came. Eric McNair Landry (see message below) has been busy finding a home for it and is doing research to discover the name of the original builder. This kayak was, apparently, the last one built by traditional methods in Kugaaruk.

This a perfect solution for this very lovely kayak, as we would not be able to protect it properly; already, the sealskin covering has cracked, something which is typical of these skins after a period of time. We will be preparing a statement of provenance and Sedbergh's name will be stated as the donor. I am told that people in the North are very pleased to have it returned.

Best regards,

Tony

Dear Tony,

Here are a selection of the photos I took while wrapping the kayak; feel free to use them as you would like. The kayak made it safely to Ottawa and is being held at the First Air Cargo building till space becomes available to ship it north. Hopefully this will take less than a week. After it arrives we will let it acclimatize to the dryness and have it assessed by a local expert to determine if it is worth repairing. It will go on display March 15th at the local museum and then become part of a display on kayaks at the legislative assembly.  Finally after several years it will move back to its home town in Kugaaruk. 

If you have time in the coming weeks to draft the wording of the signage that will accompany the kayak that would be great! Once again thank you for all your help in getting this kayak back to the north!

Eric