Kayak, early 20th century
Huntingdon Island, Labrador, Newfoundland, Canada
Gift of the Hudson’s Bay Company

The coast around Huntingdon Island does not have native wood suitable for boat building. Instead, the native peoples hunted seals and walrus for food and used their hides for clothing and for making kayaks. The skin was cleaned and stretched over a frame of driftwood to make a vessel perfectly suited for its environment.

Kayaks were used for hunting in the often rough and ice-strewn waters.