With almost one million boats registered, Michiganians love to be on the
water. From small pleasure craft to large freighters, boats have served
Michigan's needs since the earliest Native American canoes.
In the area we now
call Michigan, Potawatomi Indians hollowed out logs with fire then scraped them
with adzes to make dugout canoes. They also made elm bark canoes. The Ottawa and
the Ojibwa were known for their birchbark canoes.
French coureurs de bois and
voyageurs adopted the canoe for travel and the fur trade. Canoes are still a
popular way to travel on Michigan's lakes and rivers.
