It’s Canada’s national capital now, crammed with cool old architecture, tons of museums and the ByWard Market, my favorite shop/eat hangout. But hundreds of years ago, Ottawa, ON was Algonquin territory. The Algonquins called themselves Adawa—hence Ottawa.

And the Ottawa River was their highway; first, for trading among various First Nations, then with French explorers, fur traders and voyageurs.

But even if it’s a politicians’ stomping ground these days, the Algonquins are still around. On Victoria Island, traditional territory within eyeshot of the Parliament buildings, you can play voyageur for a day, with guides from Aboriginal Experiences. They hatched the idea and “floated” it in 2001 for the first time; you can sense the heritage, especially now that the Rideau Canal—an amazing engineering feat for its time and today a terrific winter skating rink—became a World Heritage Site in 2007.

It takes between one and six hours, depending on the program selected (the original voyageurs paddled for months on end). Guests can load up with trade goods and paddle a giant, freight-style “Montréal” canoe down the canal, led by courier du bois (runners of the woods), grabbing lunch voyageur-style en route and portaging around the canal’s locks onto the Kitchissipi (Ottawa) River to the island. Take part in some serious fur trading, then gather round the village bonfire for a salmon-and-smoked-venison sausage feast, stories and songs and a pow-wow before heading back.

No, you can’t keep the furs.

www.ontariotravel.net