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Create AccountThe INRS‒Institut Armand-Frappier Research Centre, part of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), is an important centre for research, training and technology transfer.
Tipis are cone-shaped dwellings that many Plains Indigenous peoples used to live in until the mid-1800s. Today, tipis retain cultural significance and are sometimes constructed for special functions. (See also Architectural History of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)
The story of the Arrow had its origins in the Cold War and the growing spectre of Soviet bombers invading our northern skies.
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on March 13, 1995. Partner content is not updated.
Adele Fifield was just 13 years old when a doctor told her that she had cancer in her knee - and that surgeons would have to amputate her left leg. "My initial reaction was disbelief," recalls Fifield. "For days, my ears seemed to ring from the shock.Snowshoes are footwear that help to distribute the weight of a person while they walk over deep snow, preventing them from sinking too far into the snow with every step. In the past, Indigenous peoples used snowshoes for winter travel in Canada, outside the Pacific and Arctic coasts. Snowshoeing has since become a popular Canadian pastime, enjoyed by hikers and sportspeople.
In 1874, Canadians Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans patented a design for an incandescent light bulb. Their invention preceded that of American Thomas Edison by several years. In fact, the second patent (issued in 1876 in the United States) was among those that Edison bought as he refined the technology to create a longer-lasting bulb. Woodward and Evans’s early work on the light bulb in Toronto has gone largely unrecognized. It was nevertheless an important development in the invention of electric lighting.
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The birchbark canoe was the principal means of water transportation for Indigenous peoples of the Eastern Woodlands, and later voyageurs, who used it extensively in the fur trade in Canada. Light and maneuverable, birchbark canoes were perfectly adapted to summer travel through the network of shallow streams, ponds, lakes and swift rivers of the Canadian Shield. As the fur trade declined in the 19th century, the canoe became more of a recreational vehicle. Though most canoes are no longer constructed of birchbark, its enduring historical legacy and its popularity as a pleasure craft have made it a Canadian cultural icon.
Shaganappi is cord made of rawhide. The Métis once used shaganappi to repair and bind parts of their Red River carts and dogsleds. Today, many people know Shaganappi as a community in southwest Calgary, Alberta.
Parfleche (also parflêche) are containers made of rawhide that were used by a variety of Plains Indigenous peoples to carry their personal belongings during hunting trips or while migrating from one location to another. Rawhide was also used to create drumheads, tipi covers, robes, the soles of moccasins and other belongings. Colourful and beautifully decorated, parfleche is considered as much a piece of art as it was a practical tool.
The term artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the capacity of a machine to simulate or exceed intelligent human activity or behaviour. It also denotes the subfield of computer science and engineering committed to the study of AI technologies. With recent advancements in digital technology, scientists have begun to create systems modelled on the workings of the human mind. Canadian researchers have played an important role in the development of AI. Now a global leader in the field, Canada, like other nations worldwide, faces important societal questions and challenges related to these potentially powerful technologies.
A dugout canoe was a common type of canoe, traditionally used by Indigenous peoples and early settlers wherever the size of tree growth made construction possible. The dugout canoe was most popular along the West Coast, where waters teeming with sea life—whales, seals, sea lions, salmon, halibut, herring, eulachon and shellfish—sustained a complex maritime culture. (See also Northwest Coast Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)
In the span of several decades, digital technologies have changed how Canadians work, communicate, consume products and access information. Although technologies like self-driving cars and the Internet of Things may seem advanced, many such tools are still in their early stages. With the growth of the digital economy, digital technologies will continue to present opportunities and challenges. Here’s a look at five of these technologies and some of the risks that come with them.
A travois, from the French word travail, “to work,” was a device used for transportation by the Plains Indigenous peoples. Drawn by horses or dogs, the travois carried people’s goods to and from hunting sites and temporary settlements.
