Six String Nation

Six String Nation was conceived by award-winning Toronto-based writer and broadcaster Jowi Taylor and designed and built by Master Luthier George Rizsanyi in Annapolis County Nova Scotia, from 64 pieces of bone, metal, wood, stone and horn. The guitar was made as a symbol of national unity, to explore Canadian identity, and to connect people from all regions in Canada. The idea to build the guitar was conceived by Taylor in the months preceding the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty after a chance encounter with Rizsanyi, who was then attempting to build guitars using wood from local sources rather than more conventional exotic woods. While the impending referendum focussed on the political relationship between the province of Quebec as a francophone minority and the Canadian federal government representing an anglophone majority, Taylor sought to represent additional stakeholders within the national debate including multicultural and indigenous communities as well as francophones living outside of Quebec. Over a period of eleven years, Taylor researched and gathered contributed materials for the guitar from every province and territory in Canada. A few materials were contributed directly by individuals to Rizsanyi. It was built by Rizsanyi in his workshop near Pinehurst, Nova Scotia, with assistance from Michael McConnell and fretboard inlay work by Sara Nasr. Work on the guitar was completed on June 15, 2006 and tested by musicians Dave MacIsaac of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and Roger Howse of Newfoundland. Additional elements of metal, leather and fabric have subsequently been added to the case and strap.

The Six String Nation guitar made its debut on Canada Day 2006 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa at the invitation of the National Capital Commission. Following its official introduction, it was played by Stephen Fearing and subsequently during the show by Kyle Riabko, Michel Pagliaro, Colin James, Jean-Francois Breau and Amy Millan. Earlier in the day, it had been played on ancillary stages by Colin Linden, Tom Wilson, Popo Murigande, Joel Fafard and members of La Volee d'Castors. In subsequent years at the Canada Day main stage on Parliament Hill, the guitar was played by Jay Knudson (2007), Ron Hynes (2008), Shane Yellowbird (2009), Wayne Lavallee (2010) and the guitarist accompanying Kardinal Offishall (2016). Over the years it has been played by hundreds of musicians - including Feist, Bruce Cockburn, Stompin' Tom Connors, Gordon Lightfoot, Rob Baker, Catherine MacLellan, the African Guitar Summit, K'naan and many others - at public and private events across Canada. The instrumental "Voyageur" by Don Ross from his "Upright and Locked Position" album (2012), was written for and composed on the Six String Nation guitar. Taylor and the Six String Nation guitar have appeared at festivals, schools, community, conference and corporate events in every province and territory of Canada.

The guitar officially received the nickname Voyageur - as suggested by Lt. Col. Susan Beharriel - at a ceremony launching the 2008 Festival du Voyageur in Winnipeg-St. Boniface.

In 2009, the guitar was part of the Un Paese a Sei Corde international guitar festival in Orta San Giulio, Italy, where it was played by Pino Forastiere and Davide Sgorlon.

In honour of the guitar, a fifty-cent coin was created by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2009. It is in the triangular shape of a guitar pick and features a hologram of the Six String Nation logo on the reverse set into a depiction of Voyageur's sound hole and rosette.

On December 11, 2015, Taylor was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (Civilian Division) for his work on the project by Governor General David Johnston in a ceremony at Rideau Hall.

Books

The origins and process of the project as well as the encounters with people across Canada were chronicled in a book by Taylor in 2009, "Six String Nation: 64 Pieces. 6 Strings. 1 Canada. 1 Guitar." (Douglas & Mcintyre publishers) accompanied by photos by Doug Nicholson and Sandor Fizli, including photos of the materials and construction process mostly by Fizli and a selection from among the tens of thousands of portraits of people holding Voyageur taken at events in all provinces and territories of Canada by Nicholson - an ongoing project.

Additionally, the project has been featured in a number of other published texts and workbooks including the grade 9 core French textbook "Tu Parles!" from R.K. Publishing and "Mathematics 10" for western Canada from McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

Media

A proposed television special and series about the building of the guitar and its subsequent travels was aborted by CBC Television Arts and Entertainment part way through the development process just months before construction on the guitar began on April 30th, 2006. At that point, CBC Newsworld producer Deborah Smith stepped in to propose a more modest project called "A Canadian Guitar", which played several times on the now defunct network.

Accompanying Jowi and the Six String Nation team on the journey to Haida Gwaii in February of 2006 to obtain the wood from the Golden Spruce was Geoff Siskind, acting in the dual capacity of videographer and audio recordist, the latter for a documentary by renowned CBC radio documentarist Steve Wadhams. Wadhams' experimental audio documentary based on these and other recordings, along with interviews with Jowi and music commissioned from Don Ross, aired in 2007.

An interview on Shaw TV Vancouver's "Urban Rush" show on September 29, 2009 included performances by Barney Bentall.

The project was spoofed on the December 4, 2104 episode (#300193905) of CBC Radio's "This Is That" in a segment about the creation of a Canadian "unity shovel".

Taylor has appeared in dozens of local and national radio and television interviews about the project, most notably in two full length interviews on TVOntario's "The Agenda with Steve Paikin" on January 2, 2013 and November 8, 2016.

He was the guest on episode 70 of the Trailer Park Boys podcast, published on SwearNet.com on December 2, 2016. During the episode, Mike Smith, as the character "Bubbles", played the song "Liquor and Whores" on Voyageur.

Documentary film footage funded by an anonymous donor from Victoria BC and shot by the now defunct F8 Inc has never been assembled into a final form. However, fragments of this footage, along with short vignettes by a number of independent videographers commissioned by Taylor, can be seen in various forms on Six String Nation's YouTube channel.

Materials

The guitar is made from 64 pieces of wood, bone, metal, stone and horn, representing a variety of cultures, communities, characters and events from every province and territory of Canada.

The guitar case was custom made for Six String Nation by Al Williams of Calton Cases Canada in Calgary, Alberta. The strap was made by Levy's Leathers of Winnipeg Manitoba. Additional pieces of significant material adorn both the case and the strap.

Voyageur Components

Province	Community	Description	Location(s) in Guitar Construction
Alberta	Brooks, Dinosaur Provincial Park	Wood from interior of John Ware's cabin.	Pick guard. Upper element of leaf motif.	John Ware's cabin
Alberta	Edmonton	Top of hockey stick from Wayne Gretzky.	Pick guard. Stem. 4 of 4, L-R. Bridge pin (1 of original 6).	Wayne Gretzky's hockey stick
Alberta	Hand Hills Lake	Community Dance Hall floor board from Hand Hills Lake Stampede.	Top. Interior. Bridge plate.	Hand Hills Lake Stampede community dance hall floorboard
Alberta	Kainah First Nation, Standoff	Ammolite carved in the shape of Blood Tribe Buffalo Skull symbol.	Back. Interior. Ornament.	Ammolite buffalo skull symbol of Blood Tribe, Kainah FN
British Columbia	near Dease Lake	Nephrite Jade from Jade West.	Headstock. Inlay.	Nephrite Jade from Northern BC
British Columbia	near Port Clements, Haida Gwaii	Part of only material extracted from Kiidk'yaas, "The Golden Spruce".	Top.	Part of only wood salvaged from the legendary Golden Spruce
British Columbia	Richmond	Red Cedar from Jack Uppal's Goldwood timber mill.	Back Int. Kerfing strips on either side of end block.	Red cedar from Jack Uppal's Goldwood Industries
British Columbia	Rossland	Competition ski from Olympic medalist Nancy Greene-Raine.	Back. Interior. Reinforcing strip #2 from top.	Ski used by medalist Nancy Greene at 1968 Winter Olympics, Grenoble, France.
British Columbia	Sidney	Moulding from original era DeHavilland DHC-2 Beaver	Rosette. Elements #3 and #11, clockwise.	Door moulding from DeHavilland Beaver
British Columbia	Victoria	Wood from original gateway to Canada's first Chinatown, Fan Tan Alley.	Top. Int. Kerfing, left shoulder.	Fan Tan Alley original gate material.
Manitoba	Gardenton	Wood from St. Michael's Orthodox Ukrainian Church.	Neck laminate. Rosette element #8, clockwise.	Wood from St. Michael's, Canada's oldest Orthodox Ukrainian church.
Manitoba	Gimli	Icelandic "Lucky Stone", Lake Winnipeg.	Fretboard inlay Fret #7.	"Lucky Stone" from shores of Lake Winnipeg in Gimli, home of the world's largest expat Icelandic community.
Manitoba	St. Boniface	Beam from St. Boniface Museum, once schoolhouse to Louis Riel.	Back. Sides. Binding. Rosette, elements #5/13	Beam from St. Boniface Museum, formerly Convent of the Grey Nuns
New Brunswick	Atholville	Salvage from the Seven Years War French Frigate, Machault.	Top. Bridge.	Wood from the Machault, unearthed during excavation for a mill site in the 1970s.
New Brunswick	Hartland	Wood from world's longest covered bridge.	Back Int. Reinforcing strip #4.	Part of world's longest covered bridge.
Newfoundland & Labrador	Cape Race	Wood from Cape Race Lighthouse motor cabinet.	Back Int. Heel brace.	Wood from the lighthouse at Cape Race, one of two sites to receive the Titanic distress signals.
Newfoundland & Labrador	Conception Bay	Red Ochre in tribute to Beothuk people.	Pick guard stain on side leaf element.	Red ochre in tribute to extinct Beothuk inhabitants
Newfoundland & Labrador	Nain	Labradorite feldspar.	Fretboard inlay on frets #3 and #9	Labradorite from coastal Labrador.
Newfoundland & Labrador	Twillingate	Wood from Christmas Seal floating clinic.	Back Int. Kerfing at L and R waist.	Salvage from sunken Christmas Seal, famed floating clinic under Captain Peter Noake.
Nova Scotia	Halifax	Rafter from Pier 21 historic site.	Top. Interior. X brace.	Rafter from Pier 21, port of entry for more than one million immigrant arrivals to Canada
Nova Scotia	Lunenburg	Decking from Bluenose II.	Neck laminate. Rosette. Interior top block and end block.	Decking from Bluenose II schooner.
Nova Scotia	Lunenburg	Salvaged pew from St. John's Anglican Church.	Back Int. Back brace #4, reinforcing strip #5. Top int. B-L kerning.	Salvaged pew from St. John's Anglican church, destroyed by fire Halloween 2001.
Nova Scotia	Sydney, Cape Breton	Rail sample from Sydney Steel.	Fretboard inlay on fret #17.	Steel rail sample from a once thriving, now absent, industry.
Nova Scotia	Westphal	Wood from the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children African Canadian Orphanage.	Top Int. fingerboard brace. Back int reinforcing strip #3.	Wood from orphanage established in the early 1900's by James Robinson Johnstone - Nova Scotia's first black lawyer, who was murdered in 1915.
Nunavut	Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq)	Muskox horn.	Rosette. Elements #4/12, clockwise.	once veered on the edge of extinction but have come back through conservation and re-introduction programs.
Nunavut	Iqaluit	Whale baleen.	Rosette. Elements #2/10, clockwise.	Baleen, part of the mechanism by which some whales ingest their food. Keratin. Used in the 19th century for clothing elements and umbrella spokes.
Nunavut	Rankin Inlet (Kangiqliniq)	Walrus tusk.	Bridge pins (4 of original 6).	Carving and engraving walrus tusks has been an important folk art for Inuit and other northern peoples since prehistoric times.
North West Territories	Fort Smith	Mammoth ivory from Dene carver Sonny MacDonald.	Headstock inlay - White element of 6SN logo execution, nut.	Preserved well across a broad range of the arctic, the tusks of the mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) – believed to be extinct for some 10,000 years – comprise the only source consistently high quality, carvable ivory, such as this piece used by master carver and storyteller, Sonny MacDonald.
North West Territories	Great Bear Lake	Acasta Gneiss, world's oldest rock.	Fretboard inlay on fret #1, rightmost element.	Acasta Gneiss, disputably the oldest known rock in the world, is estimated at 4.03 billion years old. First identified and named by Canadian geologist Dr. Janet E. King, it is also part of the Territorial Sceptre, used in the NWT Legislature.
North West Territories	Yellowknife	Wall piece from Wildcat Cafe.	Pickguard. Stem. 2 of 4, L-R.	The oldest original building in Yellowknife (1937), the Wildcat Cafe was built by Willie Wylie and Smokey Stout. It has been through several incarnations but still operates as a restaurant today.
Ontario	Almonte	Kitchen rafter from James Naismith house.	Pick guard. Side leaf element surround.	Part of the original home of basketball inventor, James Naismith Born in 1861, Naismith was a star athlete at McGill University in Montreal before moving to the U.S. to teach. There, inspired by a game from his childhood called "Duck on a Rock" he introduced basketball on December 14th, 1891. Twelve of his original thirteen rules are still in use today. Naismith is the namesake of the James Naismith Award for excellence in basketball for both men and women at the college level.
Ontario	Cobalt	Silver from Beaver Mine.	Fretboard inlay on fret #1. Centre element.	Silver from the Beaver Mine. The legend goes that in 1903 a railroad blacksmith named Fred LaRose threw his hammer at a fox and accidentally discovered the world's richest vein of silver. One hundred mines sprung up after that and Cobalt remained a boom town until the great stock market crash of 1929, generating more wealth than the Klondike. In 2001, Cobalt was named "Ontario's Most Historic Town" by a panel of judges on TVOntario's 'Studio2' for its role in determining Ontario's history and economy.
Ontario	Niagara Falls	Wooden nickel made from Maid of the Mist II salvage.	Pick guard. Side leaf element inset.	File:ON-MaidMist.png
Ontario	Ottawa	Copper from the roof of the Library of Parliament.	Fretboard inlay on fret #3. Rosette, double ring.	Copper from the roof of the Library of Parliament. Opened in 1876, it is the only original building on Parliament Hill to survive the great fire of 1916. Recently refurbished (including a new copper roof) the Library is featured on the obverse of the ten dollar bill.
Ontario	Ottawa	Oak door frame from Parliament Centre Block.	Back. Spine laminate elements #1/5	File:ON-ParliamentDoor.png
Ontario	Ottawa	Wood from sideboard of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, Parliament Hill.	Top Int. Finger braces #1/2/3/4	Wood from a sideboard in the office of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. The furniture was ultimately moved to the East Block on Parliament Hill, where it now resides in the office of Senator Consiglio DiNino.
Ontario	Pic River First Nation	Moose antler.	Fretboard inlay frame around Labradorite on 9th fret.	Moose antler A popular material for carving among the Ojibway people. Pic River sits at an important junction for travellers and traders on Lake Superior. It was the site of a Hudson's Bay trading post from 1821 to 1888.
Ontario	Pic River First Nation	Pipe stone.	Headstock inlay Red element of 6SN logo execution.	Pipe stone Not any particular kind of stone but rather one of several types of stone suitable for the making of ceremonial tobacco pipes.
Ontario	Sudbury	Nickel ingots from Inco.	Fretboard inlay on frets #12 and #15.	Nickel ingots from Inco Blasting for construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1883 revealed a rich source of nickel-copper ore and Sudbury ultimately became one of the world's great sources of nickel. It is the site of the world's largest coin - a stainless steel replica of a 1951 Canadian nickel. NASA lunar mission astronauts trained in Sudbury to become familiar with "shatter cones" – a formation caused by meteorites common in the area.
Ontario	Thunder Bay	Soup paddle from Finnish cooperative restaurant, The Hoito.	Side Int. Struts below waist, L/R.	Soup paddle from the Hoito Restaurant Canada's longest continually operating restaurant and an important anchor in the area's Finnish community. Situated on the ground floor of the Finnish Labour Temple, the Hoito Restaurant is still run as a co-operative, and has been since its founding in 1918.
Ontario	Toronto	Window frame from Lawren Harris' Group of Seven "Studio Building".	Top Int. Kerfing on R shoulder. Back int. Back brace #1	Window frame from Lawren Harris' studio at 25 Severn St. Unlike most of his Group of Seven compatriots, painter Lawren Harris came from money. He commissioned the studio in 1914 from American architect Eden Smith. It served as studio and living space for J.E.H. MacDonald, A.Y. Jackson, Frederick Varley and Tom Thomson. Other artists such as Emily Carr and Harold Town also held temporary residencies there. Artist Gordon MacNamara bought the building from Harris in 1948 and bequeathed it to his adopted son, photographic artist James Mathias.
Ontario	Toronto	Paul Henderson's hockey stick from Game 8, 1972 Summit Series.	Pick guard. Stem. 1 of 4, L-R. Bridge pin (1 of original 6)	The top of one of the hockey sticks used by Paul Henderson during the 1972 Canada-Russia Summit Series, perhaps the defining moment in Canada's relationship with its "national game". Henderson scored the winning goal of the series at 19:28 of the third period of the eighth and final game of the series on September 28th, 1972.
Ontario	Toronto	Seat 69, Gallery section, Massey Hall.	Headstock + Rosette, elements #1/9, clockwise.	Seat number 69 from the Gallery section of Massey Hall The "Grand Old Lady of Shuter St.", commissioned by industrial scion Hart Massey and designed by architect Sidney Badgley opened in 1894 and has at one time or another hosted everything from union meetings and boxing matches to performances by artists from Enrico Caruso and Glenn Gould to Neil Young and the Arcade Fire and speeches by everyone from Winston Churchill to the Dalai Lama. It also played host to the wedding of famed Six Nations Olympic distance runner Tom Longboat (Cogwagee).
Prince Edward Island	Cavendish	Wood from the property where "Green Gables" author Lucy Maud Montgomery was raised by her grandparents.	Back. Interior. Reinforcing strip #1 from top.	Wood from the house where "Green Gables" author Lucy Maud Montgomery lived with her grandparents, from which they also ran the local post office. Lucy worked there and would intercept the rejection notices from publishers for her writing until an acceptance finally came from a Boston publishing house and a literary, cultural and tourist icon was born.
Prince Edward Island	Charlottetown	Wood from office of J.R.'s Bar music venue founder Johnnie Reid.	Fretboard.	Johnnie Reid was the son of Lebanese immigrants. He opened J.R.'s as a lunch counter in 1967 but it eventually became a bar and an important stop for musicians on the Atlantic club circuit. Many greats played here but it is most famous for performances by Anne Murray, Stompin' Tom Connors and the first public performance of "Snowbird" by local songwriter Gene McLellan. The building was torn down by the City of Charlottetown in 1999.
Prince Edward Island	Lennox Island First Nation	Handle of Mi'kmaq oyster shucking champion Joe Labobe's prized shucking knife.	Side. Seat for bottom strap post.	Handle from the championship shucking knife of local Mi'kmaq hero and Canadian oyster-shucking champion for the years 1974 and 1975 (also came in second at the world championships in Galway, Ireland in 1975), the late Joe Labobe.
Prince Edward Island	Pinette	Wood from mallet belonging to "Canada Tree" sculptor Tyler Aspin.	Rosette. Elements #6/14, clockwise.	In June of 1997, Tyler Aspin commenced work on what would become a 35' tall, 2 tonne sculpture called the Canada Tree. Like the Six String Nation guitar, it was the manifestation of a belief in the power of the collective stories of the people and regions of Canada to say something about who we are as a people. Tyler died - apparently from a lightning strike - on August 17th, 2001 at his cottage in Quebec. He was 31 years old.
Prince Edward Island	Rustico	Wood from interior of Doucet House, PEI's oldest family dwelling, Acadian origin.	Back Int. Back brace #2. Top Int. Kerfing at waist.	Wood from the house built in early Acadian vernacular style in 1768 by Jean Doucet and his wife, Marguerite Gaudet. Moved to its current location from Grand Pere Point, it may be the oldest dwelling on all of PEI. It is currently administered as a museum by the adjacent Famer's Bank of Rustico, built in 1864, which served as the model for modern day credit unions in North America.
Quebec	Kuujjuaq, Nunavik	Caribou antler ulu carved by Charlene Watt.	Fretboard inlay on fret #5	Caribou antler and soapstone. An ornamental ulu (women's knife) carved by artist Charlene Watt.
Quebec	Montebello	Baseboard moulding from Manoir Papineau.	Neck laminate, centre strip.	Moulding from the interior of the Manoir Papineau, the house built on the Seigneury of French-Canadian politician and early Quebec nationalist, Louis-Joseph Papineau in 1850.
Quebec	Montreal	Fairmount Bagel bakery shibba.	Back. Spine laminate elements #2/4	This long paddle - or shibba - was used to carry bagels in and out of the brick ovens at the legendary Fairmount bakery - Montreal's first - founded by Isadore Shlafman in 1919. Originally situated around the corner on Blvd. St. Laurent, the bakery moved to its present location in 1949-50.
Quebec	Montreal	Gold from Maurice "Rocket" Richard's 1955-56 Stanley Cup ring.	Fretboard inlay on fret #9	Maurice "Rocket" Richard's 1955-56 Stanley Cup ring, one of those commissioned by the Richard famiily for the team in place of the NHL's silver platters in the year following the famous suspension and ensuing riots leading up to the final against Detroit. The 1956 Stanley Cup title was won on a goal by Richard at 15:08 of the second period, game 5. Richard wore number 9, which was retired by the Canadiens in 1960.
Quebec	Montreal	Wood from Seat 10 Row G Section 321 of the old Montreal Forum.	Pick guard. Stem. 3 of 4, L-R.	Piece from Seat 10 Row G Section 321 of the old Montreal Forum. It opened in 1924 as the home of the Montreal Maroons until their demise in 1938. From 1926 to 1996 it was home to the Montreal Canadiens. In all, it was home to 26 Stanley Cups - 2 for the Maroons, 24 for the Habs. Its current incarnation as the "Forum Pepsi" includes a multiplex theatre, electronics store, bowling alley, fitness centre and other shops and attractions.
Quebec	Montreal	Canoe paddle belonging to 15th and 17th Prime Minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau.	Top Int. Neck and fingerboard brace. Truss rod access.	A canoe paddle belonging to Canada's 15th and 17th Prime Minister (and great outdoorsman) Pierre Elliott Trudeau. The canoe is arguably one of Canada's most enduring symbols – a gift from Canada's indigenous people that was adopted, utilized and mythologized by everyone from Samuel de Champlain to the Voyageurs to Tom Thompson to Calvin Rutstrum, Bill Mason and, of course, Trudeau.
Quebec	Quebec City	Drapery pin from Walter S. Painter designed Theatre Capitole.	Side Int. Struts between upper bouts and waist, L/R.	Theatre drapery pin from Theatre Capitole. Designed by American architect Walter S. Painter in the Beaux Arts style, the theatre is at the heart of the only urban district in North America designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Quebec	St. Armand	Slate from purported chapel roof built by slaves owned by American loyalist Philip Luke.	Bridge Pins Slate ground into powder color for pin detail.	Slate from the roof of the "Chapel at Nigger Rock". During the Civil War, an American loyalist named Philip Luke crossed the border into what is now the Eastern Townships of Quebec with six slaves inherited from his mother. They remained slaves in this new land and they and others were buried in what is now private property in a plot called "Nigger Rock" next to a farmer's field. Although disputed, a building at the opposite side of the field is purported to have been built by slaves as a chapel.
Saskatchewan	One Arrow First Nation, Duck Lake	Stone from monument to Almighty Voice aka. "Kisse-Manitou-Wayo" / "Shu-Kwe-weetam"	Fretboard inlay on fret #1, leftmost element.	Almighty Voice (aka. "Kisse-Manitou-Wayo" or "Shu-Kwe-weetam") was killed in the last battle between natives and the Northwest Mounted Police on June 1, 1897. Jailed in 1885 for a minor infraction, he was taunted that he would be executed and soon after escaped, leading police on a 19-month pursuit ending in 7 deaths including his own. The story was the subject of a 1974 film "Alien Thunder", starring Gordon Tootoosis, Donald Sutherland and Chief Dan George and a 1991 play, "Almighty Voice and His Wife" by Daniel David Moses.
Saskatchewan	Patuanak	Moose shin contributed by Don Reed and participants in his community music program.	Fretboard inlay on fret #3, frame.	Moose shin. Singer-songwriter Don Freed has worked for many years with the youth in this community in northern Saskatchewan. Moose is a big part of life and culture in the community and Don insisted that it was a great material for instruments so we couldn't but take his recommendation.
Saskatchewan	Veregin	Wood from grain elevator built by Doukhobor exiles from Russia led by Peter Verigin.	Back. Spine. Centre strip. Rosette element #8.	The Doukhobors were a Christian pacificist sect from Russia under the leadership of Peter V. Veregin. Persecution by Czar Nicholas lead to the exodus of about 7500 Doukhobors to Canada in 1899 with financial support from author Leo Tolstoy. The community ultimately split, with about 6000 relocating to British Columbia in 1907.
Yukon	Dawson City	Flooring from cabin of author Jack London.	Back Int. Kerfing at lower bout L/R.	This floor beam is from the cabin of American author Jack London (Call of the Wild, White Fang, et al). His time in the Yukon during the Gold Rush inspired many of his best loved stories. The main building of the cabin was relocated to his birthplace of California but the floor remained in Dawson where a replica was built.
Yukon	Dawson City/Pelly Crossing	Marten hide stretcher used by trapper/photo- documentarist J.J. Van Bibber.	Top Int. Tone bars #1/2. Kerfing at lower bout L	Marten hide stretcher used by Tlingit/European brothers J.J. and Patrick Van Bibber (sons of Yukon pioneers Ira and Eliza Van Bibber) in their trapping days. J.J. went on to become a celebrated photo-documentarian of life on the trap-lines.
Yukon	Dawson City, various	Wood from Yukon Rose river boat.	Back Int. Kerfing on shoulders L/R	The Yukon Rose was a storied supply vessel instrumental in building the Alaska Highway, the land route that ultimately killed the riverboat trade.
Yukon	Placer Gold Claim	Mastodon ivory.	Saddle.	Originally found on a Yukon gold mining claim, this piece of mastodon ivory passed through many hands before winding up in the guitar.
Yukon	Qikiqtaruk (Herschel Island)	Wood from whaling station community house, the oldest wood-frame building in the Yukon.	Back Int. Back brace #3 Top Int. Kerfing at bottom R.	Herschel Island lies 5 km off the coast of the Yukon in the Beaufort Sea. Constructed in 1893, the whaling station community house is the Yukon’s oldest frame building and is still in excellent condition.

Case Adornments

Province	Community	Description	Location(s) in Guitar Case
Alberta	Kainah First Nation	Sweetgrass braid gifted by Ramona Bighead, principal at Tatsikiisaapo'p Middle School.	Bed, top, under headstock pillow.	Following a presentation in September of 2014 at Tatsikiisaapo'p Middle School on the Kainah First Nation, Six String Nation was presented with a braid of sweetgrass by principal Ramona Big Head of Tatsikiisaapo'p Middle School.
New Brunswick	St. Andrew's By-the-Sea	Chair Upholstery, Algonquin Resort, Walter S. Painter Wing, ca. 1910	Bed, sewn onto sidewall at bottom end.	Chair Upholstery, Algonquin Resort, Walter S. Painter Wing, ca. 1910 Built as a getaway by and for wealthy American businessmen, opening in 1889. It became a popular destination and was taken over by the Canadian Pacific Railway hotels chain in 1903. The Painter wing, named for the famed CP Hotels architect, opened in 1910 and survived the 1914 fire that destroyed much of the rest of the hotel. It was rebuilt in 1915 and reopened after extensive renovations as a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel in 2014. Chair material designed by (or at least chosen by) Mrs. Hayter Reed.
North West Territories	Yellowknife	Eagle feather gifted by Gwich'in elder, musician and broadcaster, William Greenland.	Bed, affixed to bottom at right waist.	William Greenland is a Gwichin elder, musician, the Director of Radio and an on-air host at CKLB - Aboriginal Radio in Yellowknife NWT. This eagle feather is one that he has carried with him to First Peoples' conferences and other events across North America, to Europe, New Zealand, Tunisia and elsewhere. Following a return appearance on his show by Jowi Taylor on June 20th, 2011 in advance of National Aboriginal Day activities, Greenland presented the feather to Jowi that he might "continue its journey".
Ontario	Kingston	Engineers "Iron Ring"	Bed, compartment cover pull tab.	Legend holds that the original "Engineer's Iron Ring" was made from salvage of a steel bridge that collapsed in Quebec in 1907 killing 75 workers; however, the story may be apocryphal. Nevertheless, the ring is presented to newly minted Engineers in Canada as a reminder to take care in their work. It is given at a ceremony developed with the assistance of Rudyard Kipling known as "The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer" and is intended to be worn on the pinky finger of the dominant hand. The custom was adopted as the "Order of the Engineer" in the U.S. in 1970.
Ontario	Kleinberg	Bow tie belonging to author, historian and broadcaster Pierre Berton.	Lid, neck.	Born in Whitehorse, Yukon, Pierre Berton was to become one of Canada's most beloved writers, journalists and television personalities. He was the author of 50 books - most on various aspects of Canadian history. He is also remembered as a panelist on the CBC-TV gameshow Front Page Challenge and for a famous cameo on The Rick Mercer Report just one month before his death in November 2004 at the age of 84. The bow-tie was his sartorial trademark.
Ontario	Orillia	Doily from Stephen Leacock House Museum at Brewery Bay.	Bed, main body.	Doily from the Stephen Leacock National Historic Site and Museum at Brewery Bay in Orillia, the community fictionalized as "Mariposa" in Leacock's 1912 collection "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town". Leacock was arguably Canada's first international literary superstar, influencing the likes of Groucho Marx and Jack Benny. The Stephen Leacock Medal for Canadian literary humour was instituted in 1947 and has honoured such authors as Robertson Davies, Paul Quarrington, Stuart McLean, W.O. Mitchell and Will Ferguson.
Ontario	Sarnia	International Space Station Expedition 34/35 Mission Patch contributed by astronaut and ISS Commander Chris Hadfield.	Bed, main body.	Col. Chris Hadfield's 2013 International Space Station Mission Patch A much-decorated CAF pilot, Hadfield was the first Canadian astronaut to conduct a spacewalk. In September 2010, he was assigned to Expedition 34/35. In December 2012, he launched as Flight Engineer 1 aboard Russian Soyuz 33 In March 2013, during the second portion of his 6-month mission, Col. Hadfield became the first Canadian Commander of the International Space Station. His guitar-playing and social media presence from the ISS made him a household name in Canada and around the world.
Ontario	Stratford	Material from the original tent of the Stratford Theatre Festival ca. 1953	Bed, compartment cover.	Stratford Festival tent canvas. When Sir Alec Guinness spoke the first lines of the first play produced by Ontario’s Stratford Theatre Festival on July 13th, 1953 ("Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this son of York."), the venue was a humble canvas tent from which this piece was taken. The tent was replaced by the current permanent facility in 1957.
Ontario	Toronto	"Sleeping Beauty" Bluebird costume of National Ballet of Canada prima ballerina Karen Kain ca. 1972	Lid, head. Bed, waist.	Karen Kain and Frank Augystyn’s pas de deux from the National Ballet of Canada’s 1972 production of Sleeping Beauty won them a gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow, cementing their dance partnership and making them household names in Canada. Kain's solo performance earned her a silver medal. This is a piece of her Bluebird costume from that ballet.
Ontario	Toronto	Collage of materials from Regent Park neighbourhood schools designed by students from Nelson Mandela Park Public School with designer Kessa Laxton.	Bed, headstock pillow.	One part of a wide-ranging participation in the 2009 edition of Toronto's Luminato Festival was a project with students and teachers at Nelson Mandela Park Public School in the Regent Park neighbourhood. The school, renamed from Park Public School on the occasion of a visit by South African leader Nelson Mandela on November 17th, 2001, is the city's oldest school still on its original site - dating to 1853. As part of that project, students collected fragments of jerseys and banners from their own school and those of neighbouring schools including Duke of York and Lord Dufferin public schools. The materials were combined into a fabric collage with the help of textile artist Kessa Laxton.
Ontario	Toronto	Material from backdrop of Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe touring show.	Bed, main body, under Leacock doily.	Section from signature stage backdrop of broadcaster Stuart McLean's "Vinyl Café" live show. Andrew Stuart McLean, OC (1948 – 2017) was a Canadian radio broadcaster, humorist and author, best known as the host of the CBC Radio program "The Vinyl Café" and the companion live events from which the radio programs were drawn. The backdrop, featuring a depiction of a vintage microphone, was created by award winning book designer Peter Sibbald, for whose family Sibbald Point - where humorist Stephen Leaccok is buried - was named. McLean was a three-time winner of the Leacock Medal for Humour.
Ontario	Windsor / Ohsweken	Leather webbing from 1971-74 Windsor Warlocks lacrosse stick made by Six Nations stick maker Ennis Williams.	Bed, top, under headstock pillow.	Modern lacrosse is derived from the Mohawk game of tewaarathon developed over 500 years ago, becoming popular among non- aboriginal players in the 1800s. Long considered Canada's national game, it was declared Canada's official summer sport in 1994. Enos (sometimes spelled Ennis) Williams was one of two famed stick making families but traditional wood stick-making is becoming a lost art. This particular stick was used by the Windsor Warlocks, an Ontario Lacrosse Association team and Major Series Lacrosse champions in 1974.
Ontario	Wolf Island	Trousers donated by former coach and hockey broadcasting icon Don Cherry.	Lid, main body.	Don Cherry is the outspoken, occasionally outrageous and outlandishly-dressed hockey commentator and former coach and player. Best known for his flamboyant jackets and mile-high collars, this material is a pair of his trousers dating back to 1979.
Prince Edward Island	Tyne Valley	Sweetgrass braid gifted by the Labobe family and friends in the oyster shucking community.	Bed, top, under headstock pillow.	During our visit to Tyne Valley Oyster Festival during the summer of 2006, we were presented with the traditional gift of a braid of sweetgrass by members of the family of Joe Labobe, part of whose championship oyster shucking knife is used in the construction of the guitar (see elsewhere in this index) and was placed in the guitar case.
Quebec	Quebec City	Carpet from the mosque at the CCIQ, site of the shooting on January 29, 2017, in which six people died and 19 were injured.	tbd	Swatch of carpet from the mosque at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec (CCIQ) in Quebec City, site of a January 29, 2017 hate crime during which six men were killed and nineteen people injured. Names of the dead embroidered on the material by designer Lana Kuidir.

Strap Adornments

Province	Community	Description	Location(s) in Guitar Construction
Alberta	Edmonton	Shoulder tile and cap badge donated by the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry - a regiment founded in 1914 on a grant from Andrew Gault.	Affixed at front shoulder level, top elements.	Cap badge and shoulder tile from the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Founded with a gift from Captain Andrew Hamilton Gault in 1914, the regiment is one of the most decorated in the Canadian Forces, serving in Europe in both World Wars, in Korea, the former Yugoslavia and more recently in Afghanistan.
British Columbia	Vancouver	Material taken from a jersey (ca. late 1930s) of the Vancouver Asahi, a Japanese-Canadian baseball team also founded in 1914 and lasting until the 1941 internment.	Affixed on front closer to strap-lock device.	Swatch from original Vancouver Asahi baseball team jersey. The Asahi Japanese-Canadian baseball team was founded in Vancouver in 1914. While prevalent racism prevented players from playing in "white" leagues, the Asahi's unique style of play attracted large white audiences, peaking in the 1930's, and they became a beloved championship team. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan in 1941, Japanese-Canadians were declared "enemy aliens" and either deported to Japan or dispersed among internment camps in BC and elsewhere. The team was disbanded during this period. The exact date and player associated with this jersey is unconfirmed but the design suggests it is from the mid 1930s.
Newfoundland	St. John's	Shoulder tile and cap badge donated by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, founded in 1795 and awarded the Royal designation in December 1949.	Affixed at front shoulder level, middle and lower elements.	Founded in 1795, the Newfoundland Regiment suffered a casualty rate of 90% on the first day of WWIʼs Battle of the Somme at Beaumont Hamel, France, on July 1st, 1916 - long before Newfoundland was part of Canada. The "Royal" prefix was bestowed by King George V on September 28, 1917, the only time during the war that this honour was given. Since Newfoundland's entry into confederation, July 1st in Newfoundland begins as a memorial with the Blue Forget-me-not as the official commemorative flower.
Nova Scotia	Dartmouth	Materials gifted from the wardrobes of each of the main three characters of the Trailer Park Boys and woven together using the unique Atlantic rug hooking technique of the Grenfell Missions by artist Holly Boileau.	Affixed on front closest to strap-lock.	Mike Clattenburg's 1999 film spawned multiple television series, feature film and other projects and launched a distinctly Canadian comedy phenomenon. Each of the three main characters contributed swatches of material from their signature costumes: Ricky's herringbone jacket; Julian's black t-shirt; Bubbles' boot tongue. These were combined using the technique of rug-hooking in the tradition of the Grenfell Missions - another Atlantic Canadian phenomenon - by textile artist Holly Boileau.
Ontario	Chatham	Wool from a cap belonging to Myles Neuts, a student who died in February of 1998, six days after an attack by bullies at his school.	Affixed at the back side, mid-way.	In February of 1998, Myles Neuts, aged 10, was hung by bullies from a hook in a bathroom stall at his Chatham school. He remained unconscious until his death 6 days later. His father has since mounted an anti-bullying campaign in Myles' memory. Myles purchased this cap himself at the 1996 edition of the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival in Michigan.
Ontario	Toronto	Cowboy boot of singer-songwriter Taylor Mitchell, who died as the result of a coyote attack at Cape Breton Highlands National Park on October 27th, 2009, at the age of 19.	Affixed at back of strap over adjustment ribs.	Cowboy boot of the late singer-songwriter, Taylor Mitchell. Taylor Mitchell was a young singer-songwriter. On October 27th, 2009, at the age of 19 and at the start of her first tour of Maritime Canada, she was attacked by at least three wild coyotes while hiking the Skyline Trail at Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia. This contribution is a tribute to Taylor and to all young musicians in Canada setting out on a difficult career path. Included with the boot leather is a fabric scroll containing the lyrics to one of Taylor's songs embroidered by her mother, Emily.
Ontario	Toronto	Materials from Gord Downie's farewell "Man Machine Poem" tour wardrobe, consisting of pieces from each of seven suits designed by Izzy Camilleri, feather and felt from milliner Karyn Ruiz and heel and sole shoe leather by cobbler Jeff Churchill.	Feather and felt on front above Asahi jersey. Shoe leathers on back above Taylor Mitchell boot.	The assemblage of materials consists of seven pieces of material taken from seven of the metallic leather suits designed by Izzy Camilleri and worn on the tour, felt and feather from the hats made by milliner Karyn Ruiz and heel and sole leather from the custom shoes made by cobbler Jeff Churchill, all of Toronto.

External links

• Six String Nation
• Rizsanyi Guitars