Six String Nation

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Six String Nation Guitar - Voyageur
Six String Nation Guitar - Front.png
Six String Nation Guitar - Voyageur
Six String Nation Guitar - Back.png

Six String Nation is public art and history project conceived by Jowi Taylor and centred around a steel-string acoustic guitar built from a variety of artifacts collected by Taylor representing diverse cultures, communities, characters and events from every province and territory of Canada. The building of the guitar was commissioned from Nova Scotia luthier George Rizsanyi.[1]

History[]

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.[2] 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[3] 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 Volée 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. In 2013 Jim Henman, a cofounder of Canada's April Wine, was asked to perform a few of his tunes on the Voyageur at his Toronto show and in 2019, an Ontario singer-songwriter composed and recorded an EP of 6 songs drawn from the stories embedded in the guitar, entitled "The Songs of Voyageur". 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 Beharriell[4] - 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.[5] 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)[6] 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)[7] 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.[8]

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[9] and "Mathematics 10" for western Canada from McGraw-Hill Ryerson.[10]

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 30, 2006. At that point, CBC Newsworld producer Deborah Smith stepped in to propose a more modest project called "A Canadian Guitar",[11] 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 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[12] included performances by Barney Bentall.

The project was spoofed on the December 4, 2014 episode (#300193905)[13] 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[14] and November 8, 2016.[15]

He was the guest on episode 70[16] 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.

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 1900s 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.

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

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 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 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 1930s, 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 1998, six days after an attack by bullies at his school.

Affixed at the back side, mid-way.
In February 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 27, 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.

Guitar Diagrams[]

Maps of the Six String Nation Guitar
  • guitar fretboard map

    The components of the guitar's fretboard

  • guitar neck map

    The components of the guitar's neck

  • guitar front face map

    The components of the front of the guitar

  • guitar inside top

    The components of the inside of the guitar's top side

  • guitar map exterior back side

    The components of the back of the guitar

  • guitar map interior back side

    The components of the inside of the guitar's back side

  • guitar map inside top side edges

    The components of the inside joining edges of the guitar's top side

  • guitar map inside back side edges

    The components of the inside joining edges of the guitar's back side

  • guitar map bottom

    The components of the bottom of the guitar

References[]

  1. ^ 'National guitar' to include 600-year-old Winnipeg wood, CBC.
  2. ^ Taylor, Jowi (2009). Six String Nation. ISBN 978-1-55365-393-6.
  3. ^ Country music, The Globe and Mail
  4. ^ "One Guitar Unites Our Country". The Boundary Sentinel. 2009-09-24. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  5. ^ "Take Your Pick of Enticing New Collector Coins as Royal Canadian Mint Launches Second Product Release of 2009". www.mint.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  6. ^ General, The Office of the Secretary to the Governor. "The Governor General of Canada". Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  7. ^ Jowi., Taylor (2009). Six string nation : 64 pieces, 6 strings, 1 Canada, 1 guitar. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre. ISBN 9781553653936. OCLC 302060380.
  8. ^ "Six String Nation's albums". Flickr. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  9. ^ Tu parles! 1. DeBlois, Rachel,, Hendry, Linda M. [Toronto]. 2015. ISBN 9781927548189. OCLC 908168523.CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. ^ Mathematics 10. McAskill, Bruce. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson. 2010. ISBN 9780070002470. OCLC 657264090.CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. ^ "Canadian Guitar". CBC Television. 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  12. ^ SixStringNationTV (2015-06-17), 6SN Bentall UrbanRush, retrieved 2018-05-09
  13. ^ French Food Labels, Backwards Driver, Town Amalgamation, The Unity Shovel, 2014-12-04, retrieved 2018-05-09
  14. ^ The Agenda with Steve Paikin (2013-01-02), Jowi Taylor: Six String Nation, retrieved 2018-05-09
  15. ^ The Agenda with Steve Paikin (2016-11-08), Six String Nation Revisited, retrieved 2018-05-09
  16. ^ "SwearNet is the home of The Trailer Park Boys!". www.swearnet.com. Retrieved 2018-05-09.

External links[]

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