Fort Nelson Aboriginal Project

Using Birch Bark
adapted by Judith Desjarlais from the original work of Tara Prindle
[used with the permission of the author]
userscan view the original text and other material
of interest at the NativeTech website.

Birch Bark
Long before the arrival of Europeans and even before the development of ceramics, bark containers were used to collect, store, cook and consume food or other products. Birch bark is readily available, waterproof, pliable, and rot resistant. Bark is cut to the right size and shape, and then sewn together with spruce roots. Baskets are then used to cook food by placing hot stones in with the stewing meat. They also make great berry picking baskets, as the berries stored in them would not mould.

Bark
There are several types of birch trees, however the best type of bark for usable items is paper birch, sometimes called white birch. The bark from the sweet or black birch is rough and completely unsuitable for craft work but is the source of winter green, and from which brewed a tea high in vitamin C.

Removing the bark from a live birch threatens the health of that tree. If the dark inner bark of the birch tree is damaged this can kill the tree. Harming a tree only for pieces of its bark is not advised. Birch has preservative properties and it is possible to use the bark from dead or fallen trees to make containers and other items.

The bark from fallen trees may be gathered at any time, however the best time for gathering live birch bark is late spring and into the month of June. This is when the bark is thickest, ensuring that the dark brown inner bark, which formed from flowing sap in winter, is left on the tree. In this season the bark is easily removed from the tree almost peeling itself. To peel bark sheets from the tree, a vertical slit is made down the trunk then pry the birch upwards using your hands, leaving the brown inner bark.

To store bark you lay out the sheets and press them flat putting weights on top to prevent curling, as birch has a tendency to do. Birch can be stored in a cool place to keep moisture in. Fresh bark can be worked without special preparation. If stored bark or bark from fallen trees is used, the bark should be heated by soaking in warm water, or by steaming over a fire.

Heat warms the sap retained in birch bark even after several months in storage and will render even old bark pliable and flexible. If the bark is thick, several layers of white paper may be peeled away to make the remaining sheet easier to cut or fold. Strips of bark were peeled off a young willow and used like string to bind rolls of bark together. The same willow sticks were sharpened and used to dig spruce roots.

The Roots
White spruce roots are used to sew baskets. A rainy day in June is the best time to gather the roots. A tree with long straight limbs indicates straight roots, which are easier to to split and longer roots mean that the one does not have to stop to add roots as frequently.

Roots are unravelled from other roots, working back towards the tree. Roots are then split. Black roots are not used as they are old and will break. The bark is peeled off and the root is split again. The softest roots should be used. Roots are cut at knots as this is a weak point and may break later. The end of the root is then sharpened to a point for sewing. For storage roots can dried and soaked over night when needed.

Stitching Together Seams
Holes for stitching or lacing may be made by piercing the layers of bark with an awl or large needle. Where bark overlaps it may be temporarily held in place using small wooden pegs. Wooden pegs or clothes pins are useful in holding rims in place as they are stitched.

Seam stitching and rim wrapping are accomplished using lacing techniques. Modern lacing may be heavy waxed nylon thread strung through a needle. Natural lacing would be made of inner cedar bark, or from stripped pieces of spruce roots. Natural lacing should be soaked in warm water before use to make it more flexible.

Rims for containers are not only decorative, but also add reinforcement to aged areas of birch bark. Rims may be solid wood like white cedar or split spruce root. Rims may also be made using a skinny bundle of plant material like sweetgrass. Rims are attached by wrapping lacing around the rim material through evenly spaced holes pierced in the bark. Stitches can be staggered in length or in a pattern to create a nice design. Holes can be patched with a warmed mixture of white pine pitch and charcoal.

Making the Basket
Designs are created before a basket is sewn together. If a basket is to be decorated with quill work the pattern is drawn on the bark, holes are poked with an awl, and the quills are positioned one at a time. After design work is complete the bark is dampened , and held over a fire to soften. A sharp awl is used to poke holes through the bark.

Small wooden pegs are inserted to hold the bark in its new shape until it is dry. Baskets are braced inside the basket with crossed willows sticks to help hold its form. Split spruce root and the coiled willow are moistened. Willow is measured for the top edge of the basket ensuring a fit so the ends can be joined.

Marks are measured and made where holes are to be punched. Holes are poked through the two layers of bark and sewing begins. The root is laced firmly around the willow, fastening it to the basket for added strength.

Birch Bark Biting
The art of bark pattern biting among hunting people of the northeast and eastern subarctic is historical. Accounts of the 17, 18 & 19th century have described the skill of biting. Birch bark bitings are thin layers of birch bark with a design bitten into the bark with the eye tooth. A thin peeled layer of birch bark is folded in half and in half again to make quarter sections, sometimes folded diagonally to make eights and and sixteenths.

To ensure straight, even folds, it may be necessary to press along the fold with a dulled point that creases but does not cut the bark. This helps to ensure symmetry in the design. With the eyeteeth a unique and delicate pattern is impressed into the bark. Elderly women would bite patterns around an evening fire as a source of family entertainment and as a way of teaching others this skill.

Scraping
When birch bark was to be decorated with the skill of scraping, the inner surface was moistened and dampened with water or washed with boiled willow bark. This softening process was done to make scraping easier. A pattern cut from another piece of birch bark was laid on the piece of bark needing the design. The edge of the pattern is outlined with something sharp.

The area surrounding the outlined pattern is scraped so when the moistened dark layer was removed a lighter under layer is exposed. The design outlined by the scraping then stood out dark against a light unscraped area. This is known as a scrape away or positive design. Negative designs were achieved by scraping into or through the dark bark layer so that the design stood out lighter than the background. Both methods share uniqueness to the culture.

Other Uses of Birch Bark
Birch bark was also used to make hunting and fishing gear; musical instruments, decorative fans, canoes, children's sleds and other toys. Birch bark designs were also used in beadwork.

Shown is a wall hanging using birch bark backing for beading work done on moosehide.

Created by Elsie Duntra