Raft (model)

Name (French):
Name (Innu): mitut / mitush
Date Collected:
Institutions: Peenamin McKenzie School
Catalog Number: pm56
Place Made: Sheshatshiu
Maker: Pien Penashue, Matiu Penashue
Collector: Peenamin MacKenzie school

Description:

made of wood, string and nails.

Innu Narrative:

“And if you didn’t have a canoe while in the country, you could make a raft instead, if the river was not too fast. You could put all your gear and your children on it. You could only float along the river, and when you were ready to camp, you could only go to the shore. And if the river is big with fast rapids, you could go on the shore too. If you took your raft to the fast rapids, you could get into trouble. Yes, it was just the one time that we did that. In the fall, I crossed a river, and it was freezing up. Our canoe was across the river. I used a raft to go across. It was made out of logs. The raft is called mitatun. I stood on the top of it, and I went across the river. I came back with the canoe. I went alone. Our canoe was across the river. It was hard.” Uniam Katshinak