Bentley C.

Canadian Dog Sledding

Bentley C.
Saskatoon Regional Heritage Fair
Saskatoon, SK

My project shows the cultural importance that dog sleds provided for thousands of years in Canada. Dog sleds were vital to delivering messages by mail, medicine, and the fur pelts during the fur trade era in northern parts of the country. Dog sledding also helped the people of Canada map the unknown territory at the time.

Indigenous and Inuit people used dog sleds as a means of transportation because of the harsh climate and lack of other transportation options.  Dog sleds and teams were also used for hunting and moving supplies within these small communities. 

The sleds they made were traditionally made from birch wood that was strapped together from twisted birch wood pieces. During my presentation, I talked about the positions on the sled dog teams and described what each dog did to help the sled in its journey. Siberian huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Samoyed Huskies, and Chinook dogs were the most used dogs because of their warmth, smarts, strength, quickness, and their ability to be trained for this type of activity. 

I talked about a real-life story of some famous sled dogs that helped the people and communities of northern Canada. Balto and Togo were lead dogs apart of a giant relay from Nenana to Nome, Alaska, in 1925. They saved many children’s lives from the deadly disease of Diphtheria. Twenty sled dog teams and about 150 sled dogs were used to relay the medicine. 

I found the answer to my main inquiry question once I completed my project. The decline of Canadian dog sledding was at the hands of the government and the snowmobile and airplane, as both modes of transportation could take people quicker than a dog sled. Dog sledding is now preserved mostly in sport and tourism industries. There are still active dog sled races, like the Iditarod Sled Dog Race and the Yukon Quest. People can now take dog sled rides in places like Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and Banff, Alberta. Lots of people will take these tourism rides to see what it was like and for the lasting experience.    

What sources and evidence did you consult for your project? What different perspectives did they provide on your topic?

I went on the internet for my project and got information from sites including Wikipedia. I also had previous knowledge from books that I had read and I read some new books while doing the project. I liked looking at the Iditarod trail map to understand how difficult the northern regions were for these dogs, including going through mountains and snow-covered ground. It gave me an idea of how strong these dogs had to have been to be able to haul materials and people through these trails.

What is the historical significance of your topic?

The sled dogs that were used to carry packages like fur pelts and mail to communities changed the way people brought items to each other. They made it quicker to transport materials, and they could carry and move items during the cold winter months. Sled dog teams were impactful to northern communities and let them hunt in winter and deliver messages to each other. Without these types of modes of transportation, northern communities would not have grown like they did. Dog sledding also contributed to the fur trade era by expanding exploration of remote communities in northern Canada during that time.

The long-term impact of the decline of dog sledding was caused when the government uprooted the Indigenous and Inuit culture. It left these people to rely more on using snowmobiles and they couldn’t use their culture as much anymore. As snowmobiles and planes became more popular modes of transportation for travelling, dog sledding declined and became more of a sport than a necessity for these regions.

Why did you choose this topic? 

I chose this topic because I have two Siberian huskies, Kona and Timber. Before that, we had two more Siberian huskies, Nova and Judge. I wanted to learn about the breed of dogs that I have and the history of where they came from. Once I started researching, I found out that Siberian huskies were a very important breed that helped develop transportation and exploration in Canada. I started to realize how these dogs were helping Canada grow. As I was researching, I realized that I understood my dogs more.