A traditional birch bark canoe has officially taken its maiden voyage along the Nechako River
UNBC students, Two Rivers Gallery and the local French-Canadian Circle have christened it The Indian Act 2017
“The year 2017 is to illustrate that it is still in our Constitution and this is the year that we should start talking about that. The act is very racist for not just First Nations, but for all Canadians.” – Marcel Labelle, Canoe builder, and instructor
Labelle says the canoe is a metaphor for Canada itself
“To the average person it looks complete, but as a builder, I know where we can improve. It’s a very good canoe, it paddles beautifully, but can it improve? Yes, it can improve. Can Canada improve? Yes, we can improve.”
The canoe’s creators want to encourage conversations about equality rights for indigenous people