Paddlers in birch bark canoes honor Wabanaki culture on Moosehead Lake

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 29, 2025

It was with uncanny ease that the first few birch bark canoes glided into view, cutting the wind-riffled surface of Moosehead Lake. Their paddlers directed the boats in loose courses around one another with short, confident strokes as the fleet grew from three to 10. Soon, a flotilla of 15 boats had gathered about 50 feet offshore. To observe a gathering of 15 birch bark canoes, like that one that took place at the Greenville Junction Wharf as part of the Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail Festival, is exceedingly rare.