Media Release: Updated List of Endangered Crafts Released for Newfoundland and Labrador

Draught and sled dog equipment, the cobbling of shoes and boots, horseshoeing, and the making of elaborate ceremonial arches have all been placed on an updated list of endangered crafts for Newfoundland and Labrador.

St. John's, NL
For immediate release

Draught and sled dog equipment, the cobbling of shoes and boots, horseshoeing, and the making of elaborate ceremonial arches have all been placed on an updated list of endangered crafts for Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Heritage NL Craft at Risk List 2026 is designed to track changes in levels of local knowledge and to plan for the future. Concerned about the loss of traditional know-how, Heritage NL has been working to document crafts at risk and to encourage the sharing of heritage skills.

The Heritage NL Craft at Risk List 2026 features 82 crafts, 18 of which are listed as critically endangered. These include things such as draught and sled dog equipment, handbarrow and wheelbarrow making, and fish and seal oil pants. An additional 44 crafts are listed as endangered, while 16 crafts are listed as currently viable. Four crafts, including the recently listed celebratory arches, are listed as having become extinct in the last generation.

In 2026, The Rooms is showcasing Craft at Risk with a new exhibition in collaboration with Heritage NL. This exhibition runs from Fall 2026 to Fall 2027 and highlights some of the crafts from the Craft at Risk List. It shares items from the Rooms Collections, as well as the individuals keeping these traditions alive today. Throughout the fall, The Rooms and Heritage NL are also offering a series of three Craft at Risk workshops on basketmaking, rug hooking, and weaving.

“People in Newfoundland and Labrador have a long history of making with their hands,” says folklorist Dale Jarvis, Executive Director of Heritage NL. “But more than being just a part of our past, craft improves mental health, builds problem-solving skills, and connects us to authentic, sustainable skills for future community growth.”

“Heritage NL is dedicated to continuing this work, so future generations can continue to learn the crafts that shape our identity,” Jarvis adds.

Heritage NL Craft at Risk List 2026

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For more information or to arrange an interview contact:
Dale Jarvis, Executive Director 
dale@heritagenl.ca 
709-739-1892 x1 

Terra Barrett, ICH Program Planner
terra@heritagenl.ca
709-739-1892 x2

Heritage NL 
www.heritagecraft.ca

Saving Lace: Revitalizing Newfoundland Shuttle Tatting

Shuttle tatting ornaments by Shyla Veinott of Beau Bois.

Do you know how to tat? Do you have memories of your nan shuttle tatting?

Christina Oates wants to hear from you! 

We've recently had a graduate student, Christina, reach out to us about shuttle tatting. Christina is a student at Yorkville University. She is working on her graduating project for a Bachelor of Creative Arts. The project will explore the process of breathing new life into a critically endangered craft through the pillars of learning, practicing, and sharing.

Christina is currently researching shuttle tatting in the province and is looking for any personal connections people have with the craft, such as family heirlooms, memories, experiences, knowledge, or anything else anyone would wish to share. What she is looking for at this stage is pretty open, so even a memory of Nan tatting would be extremely helpful!

If you've got something to share please reach out to Christina at: christina.oates@hotmail.com

Candy boilers, fence builders, and blood pudding makers - celebrating the skills of Tilting, Fogo Island

Tilting NL - Candy boilers, fence builders, and blood pudding makers are featured in a new report celebrating the traditional skills of Tilting, Fogo Island.

Starting in 2022, the Tilting Recreation and Cultural Society (TRACS) and Heritage NL, in partnership with the Community Revitalization Research Program at Queen’s University, set out to identify traditional skill holders in the area.

That research on local knowledge has been released in a colourful new online publication by Heritage NL, with photos and quotes by the participants.

"We wanted to find the ‘hidden gems’ of Tilting traditions," says Dale Jarvis, Heritage NL Executive Director. "We found storytellers, musicians, carvers, lobstermen, keepers of beer plants, and experts on local lore, who are all represented in the study."

Jarvis says the document is a starting point for future research, with many more crafters, makers, and skills-holders to be identified. The report is available on the HeritageNL.ca website.

https://heritagenl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tilting-Traditional-Skills-Inventory.pdf

Living Heritage Podcast Ep207 Traditional Fence Building in NL

 

In Newfoundland and Labrador, fences were built for a number of reasons including keeping animals out of gardens and delineating property lines. In this episode of the podcast we learn about traditional fence types, the importance of fences in the cultural landscape of the province, and in particular the way to build a traditional wriggle fence.

We talk with Andrea O’Brien and Dale Jarvis of Heritage NL, and hear audio clips from Kevin Andrews of New Perlican. Andrea O’Brien is the Municipal Outreach Officer and Provincial Registrar, and Dale Jarvis is the Executive Director of Heritage NL. Kevin Andrews of New Perlican learned how to make wriggle fence by helping his uncles and grandfather make their own. He and George Burrage of New Perlican will be leading a wriggle fence making workshop on July 17, 2021. This workshop is a partnership between Heritage NL and Heritage New Perlican and is offered with support of the Labour Market Partnerships program, Department of Immigration, Skills and Labour, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.    

Learn more about the wriggle fence – also known as a wiggling, wriggling, wiggle, or riddle fence – by watching this 1977 Wrigglin' Fence video. This short film, directed by Newfoundland artist Don Wright, follows the Paddy Brothers of Port Kirwan, Newfoundland, as they build a traditional 'wrigglin' fence around their garden. Often built without nails, they are one of the most unique of NL fence types and useful in your garden to support climbing plants, to keep animals out, or for a bit of a wind block.

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Living Heritage is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the community level. The show is a partnership between HeritageNL and CHMR Radio.

Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.