In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous poem, The Song of Hiawatha (1855), the hero learned how to paddle a birchbark canoe in the Tahquamenon. The river is often used for canoeing to this day.
Longfellow's poem "The Song of Hiawatha" (1855) describes the hero's journey, including his learning to paddle a birchbark canoe on the Tahquamenon River, which is still used for canoeing today.