Qajaq USA

Qajaq USA is the American Chapter of Qaannat Kattuffiat—the Greenland Kayak Association. We are a small, passionate group of volunteers. We average approximately 250 paying members and have members world-wide. Qajaq USA is one of only three affiliated "qajaq" clubs outside of Greenland (the others are Qajaq Copenhagen and Qajaq Japan). There are about 25 qajaq clubs scattered among the small villages along the coast of West Greenland (and one in East Greenland). These clubs teach kayak building and pass along skills, and are a major impetus in keeping the local kayaking traditions alive.

 

We are proud to have had the late kayak historian John Heath as our first honorary member. John was a mentor and friend to many of us who founded Qajaq USA. Please read our Tribute to John Heath in the Summer 2003 Masik newsletter.

 

To stay current on what's happening in Qajaq USA, check out  our Masik newsletter.

Qajaq USA is comprised of volunteers, so your contribution goes entirely to help fund its mission. This includes funding this website and the forums, costs of organizing and holding events, and purchasing gear to be used at events. Also, in striving to keep Greenland the center of Greenland kayaking and to promote "learning from the source," we have sponsored prominent Greenland kayakers and officials to visit the United States. This includes past-president Kaleraq and Lone Bech, Maligiaq Padilla, Kamp Absalonsen (former main competition judge), Adam Hansen and John Petersen.

QAJAQ USA Bylaws

If you have any questions about Qajaq USA membership, please contact our membership coordinator. As a paid member you will receive the latest printed copy of the Qajaq Journal. Members are also subscribed to the Qajaq USA News Mailing List. This e-mail list will keep you informed of new editions of our electronic newsletter, the Masik, as well as other interesting developments. You may change your mailing list options or unsubscribe at any time.

Qajaq USA would not exist but for a renaissance of native kayaking skills and techniques that occurred within West Greenland in the 1980s. Although many people were influential to these developments, space permits the mention of only a few. We apologize to those whose name goes unmentioned.

 

Among the most influential was seal catcher and kayak demonstrator Manasse Mathaeusse. Though well into his seventies at the time, he was instrumental in keeping many East and West Greenland techniques alive by passing his skills on to a new generation of Greenland kayakers. Without his energy and efforts, the knowledge of many kayaking skills might well have perished. Likewise, H.C. Petersen’s writings, scholarship and interviews with an aging generation of kayak hunters saved much that might otherwise have been lost. Kaleraq Bech, the president of Qaannat Kattuffiat for many years, was among the young Greenlanders who were greatly moved by an exhibit of three old Greenland kayaks on loan from the Netherlands to West Greenland in 1984. Acting upon their feelings they went on to create Qaannat Kattuffiat in order to preserve and promote Greenland’s kayak traditions and to make sure that this knowledge survived to be passed on to future generations of Greenlanders. Finally, John Heath, who by reporting on Qaannat Kattuffiat, as well as writing and lecturing about Greenland technique, proved instrumental in effecting the growth of Greenland-style kayaking outside of Greenland. John’s videotapes of Greenlanders performing traditional maneuvers have inspired a great many kayakers.

 

A pivotal moment for the development of Greenland kayaking in America occurred in 1998 when Greenland champion Maligiaq Padilla, sponsored by John Heath, embarked on a tour of the United States and Canada. Maligiaq started his tour at the Delmarva Retreat in Lewes, Delaware, bringing with him a sealskin kayak and a sealskin tuilik (full kayak jacket). The following year Kaleraq and his wife, Lone, visited Delmarva. Kaleraq was deeply moved to see scores of Greenland paddles on the water so far from his homeland, and announced before returning to Greenland that foreigners would, for the first time, be permitted to compete in the annual Greenland kayak championship.

 

In August 2000, Cindy Cole, Harvey Golden and Greg Stamer were among the first Americans who traveled to compete in the first “open” Greenland National Championship. During the competition, Kaleraq invited Greg to speak at a Qaannat Kattuffiat board meeting concerning the state of Greenland-style kayaking in the United States and the possibility of creating an American paddling organization affiliated with the Qaannat Kattuffiat. The board was encouraged to hear news of growing outside interest in Greenland kayaking. A long discussion ensued. Later that summer Qaannat Kattuffiat approved the creation of an American chapter, thus paving the way for the formation of Qajaq USA.

 

In 2001 the Greenland kayak forum was launched, and in 2002 Qajaq USA was incorporated as a non-profit organization and began accepting its first members later that spring.

Get to know the team behind Qajaq USA. Please contact us and let us know your ideas.

Qaannat Kattuffiat

Qaannat Kattuffiat (the Greenland Kayaking Association) is a Greenlandic organization that is dedicated to keeping the traditional kayaking skills alive. These skills include rolling, paddling techniques, kayak building, tuilik making and other aspects of the Greenland kayaking culture. Qaannat Kattuffiat holds regular training camps where this knowledge is taught and practiced, as well as an annual championship. Today there are approximately 25 local Greenland "qajaq" clubs affiliated with Qaannat Kattuffiat (the logos above represent only a small sample of affiliated clubs). There are also officially recognized chapters outside of Greenland in Copenhagen, USA and Japan.

"For many centuries, Greenland was essentially a land of kayakers. The seal was the mainstay of the Inuit economy, and the kayak was a silent means of getting a hunter within harpooning range of seals and other marine mammals. A man was judged primarily according to hunting ability and skill as a kayaker.

Then, in about 1920, the sea temperature along the coast of Greenland became warmer.  Kayak hunting became less important, and fishing in power boats became more important. A whole generation grew up with almost no knowledge of kayaking.

In 1983, three ancient Greenland kayaks from the Netherlands were loaned to the Museum of Greenland at Nuuk. Some young Greenlanders saw these on exhibit and were impressed that their ancestors of 1600 to 1700 had such sleek craft and the skill to use them. These young men then decided to form a club in order to preserve their kayaking heritage. They called it the QAJAQ Club, and soon tee shirts began to appear with the slogan "QAJAQ-ATOQQILERPARPUT" (Kayak-we are starting to use it again). From the beginning in 1984, the club had reached a membership of 1,000 by late 1985.

The club enlisted the aid of veteran kayakers to teach them how to build and use kayaks." 

-John Heath (late kayak historian who helped with the creation of Qajaq USA).