Tom Byers is a Metis birchbark canoe builder who grew up along the St. Lawrence seaway in Canada, the historic heartland of the fur trade era. He has always lived near water. Since 1994 he has honed the craft of birchbark canoe making on the banks of the Vermilion River in northern Ontario near the northwestern boundary of Killarney Wilderness Park.
He builds canoes using the “old ways” based on traditional methods with quality birch bark, spruce root lashings, cedar sheathing and gunwales, hardwood thwarts and spruce gum/bear fat mixture as a waterproof sealant. All completed without the use of power tools. He transforms natural materials from the forest into “living” works of art.
Having built over 70 canoes in a variety of styles he continues the tradition, skill, and passion of birchbark canoe making for future generations.
Contact Tom Byers by
Phone: 705-929-4299
or Email: tom_byers@hotmail.com
“The birchbark canoe was created by the indigenous people of this land. In the birchbark canoe the spirit of man, and the spirit of nature are one. They are not separate.” – Tom Byers