Dear Apprentice:

Thank you for filling out this application!

The primary purpose of this application is to help you understand us and our work. And for us to understand who you are, and for us to dream about how you will fit into the team!

Description: Mighty Quapaw Apprenticeship is open to anyone who has a strong passion for rivers, outdoor recreation, and is ready to dive into a challenging but rewarding occupation. Applicant must be willing to tackle challenges and learn new skills. We will train as needed. All QCC staff share in all aspects of the work to be done. For more information about QCC, please visit www.island63.com

Helpful Skills (but not requirements): Experience in nature tourism. Wilderness First Aid, or other medical training. Creative writing. Youth Outdoor Programming and Leadership. Natural Sciences.

About Us: Quapaw Canoe Company is a mission-driven small business based in Clarksdale, Miss, with river outposts in Memphis, TN, and Vicksburg, MS. We are dedicated to exploring and sharing the beauty and wildness of the Lower Mississippi River and its muddy tributaries in human powered vessels.

Our Story: Over the past 2 decades we Quapaws have survived recession, pandemic, and many other curve balls: a deadly tax fight, a thousand year flood (and then another thousand year flood!) and many other hurdles & challenges. We and the snow geese and beavers and turtles, we have survived it all. Others weren’t so lucky, and didn’t — like eight freshwater mussels, two fish, and eleven bird species. We’re happy to be amongst the living. It is a testament to our vision, and the strength of our operations. And yet we have a renewed challenge to help those struggling, the rest of creation. Now in 2023, we are moving forward with new dreams, new canoes, and renewed enthusiasm for our work as the “worker bees” of our Queen, our beloved river, the Mighty Mississippi herself. Our purpose is a balanced life for all on mother earth, all 5 million species. The canoe is the ideal craft to carry our mission forward. The canoe is all about balance.

The QCC Core Values are balance, diversity and democracy, which all derive from our experience paddling big canoes on the big waters of North America. Balance is exemplified by the passage of our canoes. Everything we do is about keeping even keel. To do otherwise is dangerous to our health and well being. Rural poverty and racial environmentalism are examples of the imbalance we seek to counteract in our services and work as canoe builders, guides & outfitters. Other imbalances include species loss, global warming, and loss of wild places.

Diversity for us includes all peoples and all creatures great and small. We have always created equal access for all. Our staff reflects our regional demographics, around 60% Black and 40% White. Since 1998 we have made it our mission to make sure all communities found along the Lower Mississippi River enjoy equal access to the wonders of the big river, and the life changing experience of the wilderness. Our adventures practice the best qualities of democracy. Everyone in the big canoe sets aside their differences and paddles together for the good of the whole. We believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Inherit in life is the right to breathe clean air, the right to drink clean water, the right to eat good food, and the right to live in healthy shelter.

Throughout the application, please feel free to write about yourself, your family, your history, and describe the reasons you would like to become a Mighty Quapaw, (i.e. why do you want to make canoes and paddle on the Mississippi River? How will these skills help you in your future? How will this apprenticeship be a valuable addition to your life? How will it help you with your higher education?). Feel free to write at length. Feel free to add on more pages as needed. Thank you for helping us understand who you are and why you want to become a Mighty Quapaw!

Mighty Quapaw Skills include a) learning to hone carving tools razor sharp; b) learning to carve canoes with the axe, the adze, the scorp & the hand plane; c) learning to steer canoes using the c-stroke, j-stroke & ruddering; d) camping skills including building a fire, setting up a tent in a rain storm, and cooking); e) maintenance skills include sanding canoes & paddles, varnishing canoes & paddles, and f) leadership skills including trip intros, safety talk, navigation, campsite finding, food & meal planning, nature walks, games, night sky, sing-a-longs, art workshops, and many other ways of guiding groups in their experience in the wilderness of the biggest river in North America.

Contact: John Ruskey, Chief of Many Hats, Owner, guide, Canoe Builder:

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. 662-902-7841; john@island63.com

Please send completed application to:

John Ruskey, Quapaw Canoe Company

291 Sunflower Avenue

Clarksdale, MS. 38614