Cesar Newashish

Cesar Newashish (1904–1994) was an Atikamekw (First Nations) canoe maker and elder.

In 1971, he attended the Mariposa Folk Festival as an artisan, and built a canoe there, using the traditional methods of his ancestors: birch bark, cedar splints, spruce roots and gum.

[1] Once the festival was over, he then donated the birch bark canoe to the Royal Ontario Museum, where it was still on display as of 2018.

[2][3] His work on building the canoe is documented in the National Film Board of Canada documentary called Cesar's Bark Canoe,[4] which was also released in 1971.

[1][5] Cesar Newashish died at the age of 90.