Коллекционер Билл Макоски собрал более 200 пар традиционных лыж для сохранения исчезнувшего ремесла коренных народов

Bill Mackowski has assembled a collection of over 200 pairs of traditional snowshoes, possibly the largest in the world, to preserve Indigenous craftsmanship and knowledge. Traditional snowshoes were essential technology for Indigenous communities in northern regions, with different designs suited for various winter conditions and terrains. Mackowski's mission to document and share the techniques of traditional snowshoe making aims to ensure that this unique chapter of northern craftsmanship is not lost as these skills disappear. For Bill Mackowski, a pair of snowshoes represents much more than a practical way to travel across deep winter snow. Each design carries a story about craftsmanship, environment and the people who depended on it. Mackowski is both a snowshoe maker and collector who has assembled more than 200 pairs over decades of research and travel. He believes his collection may be the largest of its kind in the world. More importantly, it preserves examples of traditional knowledge that has become increasingly difficult to find. What began as a personal interest developed into a mission to understand how Indigenous craftspeople created specialized snowshoes for different landscapes and winter conditions. Traditional snowshoes work by spreading a person's weight across a larger surface, reducing how deeply they sink into soft snow. For Indigenous communities living in northern regions, this was historically essential technology rather than recreational equipment. A person might own several pairs designed for different situations. One style could be suited to deep, powdery snow, another to spring conditions, and another to traveling efficiently in a straight line. Variations in shape, wood and weaving reflected generations of experience with local terrain. Mackowski first became familiar with snowshoes while spending much of his younger life outdoors trapping, fishing and hunting, but an encounter during the 1980s transformed his interest into something much deeper. While traveling in northern Quebec, Mackowski came across a winter camp where he found a pair of traditional Indigenous snowshoes. As someone who already understood snowshoe construction, he immediately recognized the exceptional craftsmanship involved. That discovery inspired a long journey to locate other communities where traditional makers were still practicing their skills. Mackowski traveled through Indigenous communities across Quebec and the Yukon, as well as parts of the Northwest Territories, Ontario and Alaska. He also explored communities along the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Rather than simply collecting finished objects, he asked craftspeople detailed questions about their methods, including how they selected suitable trees, chose particular types of wood and determined the weaving patterns required for different designs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those conversations also transformed Mackowski into a more knowledgeable maker. By documenting techniques and learning directly from experienced craftspeople, he developed a greater appreciation not only for the skill involved but also for the lifestyles that produced this knowledge. Today, his priority is ensuring that the collection becomes accessible to researchers, scholars and members of the public who want to study these traditions. He believes assembling a similar collection again would be extremely difficult because many traditional snowshoe-making skills are disappearing along with the people who mastered them. That gives the collection significance beyond its impressive size. These snowshoes preserve practical knowledge developed through generations of living with winter. By protecting the objects and documenting the people who created them, Mackowski hopes to ensure that an extraordinary chapter of northern craftsmanship remains available long after the last traditional makers are gone.