Tipatshimuna 
Description:
Over the last century the Innu have used three types of vehicles to transport food and belongings; atim-utapanashku (komatik), ush-tetatinakanashku (sled or catamaran), and shumin-utapanashku (toboggan). The first of these, the komatik, was obtained from the Inuit and Settler people on the coast of Labrador and was hauled by a dog team. The sled or catamaran was used at the beginning and end of the winter season when the snow was slushy and there was lots of water on the ice. The platform of this sled helped to keep food and clothing dry because it was attached on top of two runners, 10-15 cm above the ground. It was also used to transport firewood and canoes during freeze-up and break-up periods. Like the toboggan, it was usually pulled by the Innu themselves without the help of dogs.
The shumin-utapanashku (toboggan) was used after freeze-up, but always with a caribou hide or canvas sheet strapped on the top that would protect the contents from the snow and ice. The toboggan was usually made of two thin planks cut from a tamarack or spruce tree using a sharp axe and a crooked knife. The ends were then soaked with hot water and bent to give their upturned toboggan shape.
Listen to what Innu Elders from Natuashish and Sheshatshiu have to say about the toboggan at right.
Gallery:
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- Toboggan, Peenamin McKenzie School, Innu Nation 2005
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- A small Innu shaputuan in northern Labrador. One can just make out a toboggan leaning up against the backside of the dwelling. Photo courtesy of Them Days
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- Quentin Penashue and Roberta Pone pull toboggans carrying their belongings during Tshaukuesh Penashue’s meshkanu (walk). 2015. Photo courtesy of Camille Fouillard
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- Shinipest (Tommy) hauling a slain caribou on a sled. 1927-8. The second Rawson-Macmillan Subarctic Expedition. Courtesy of Field Museum of Natural History (Anthropology)
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- Belongings strapped to a toboggan. 1966. Photo by Georg Henriksen
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- Kaniuekutat (John) and Angela Poker take a break on their sled. 1966. Photo by Georg Henriksen
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- Joe and Akat Rich, with Napeu, Penashue and baby. 1928. The second Rawson-Macmillan Subarctic Expedition. Courtesy of Field Museum of Natural History (Anthropology)
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- Woman pulls a toboggan stacked with boughs to use for the tent floor. 1927-8. The second Rawson-Macmillan Subarctic Expedition. Courtesy of Field Museum of Natural History (Anthropology)
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- Baby bundled up on a sled, ready for travel. 1927-8. The second Rawson-Macmillan Subarctic Expedition. Courtesy of Field Museum of Natural History (Anthropology)
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- Witcamaken and his family arrive at the camp nearly starving, hauling their belongings on sleds. 1927-8. The second Rawson-Macmillan Subarctic Expedition. Courtesy of Field Museum of Natural History (Anthropology)
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- Woman pulling her belongings on a sled. 1927-8. The second Rawson-Macmillan Subarctic Expedition. Courtesy of Field Museum of Natural History (Anthropology)
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- Innu hauling canoe on komatik pulled by dog team near Emsih. 1930-45. Photo by Judy-Pauline Hunter White. Courtesy of Alika Podolinksy Webber and Library and Archives Canada
For information on how Innu made toboggans: Making a tobaggan
For a description of the Innu toboggan going back to the early 1890s: Turner on making a toboggan