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Early uses of birchbark

White BirchWhite birch often referred to as paper birch or canoe birch (Betula papyrifera) is one of the most valuable tree species in Maine. For the Native Peoples of Maine, this tree was integral to their lifeways. White birch can be found all over the state of Maine. It grows in rich moist soils, along banks of streams and along the shore of lakes and ponds. Trees can reach heights of up to 70 feet tall and a diameter of one to two feet. The wood of this tree is closely grained, and is fairly hard and strong.

The outer bark of a mature tree is white, while the inner bark is a darker brown. The inner bark has a waxy consistency and is water-proof. Birchbark was the “fabric” of Maine Indian life providing a tough, flexible when damp, rot and insect resistant and odor-free material that could be used to make a wide variety of items including:

animal calls
armor
bandages
beds
bedding
berry baskets
biers
bowls
boxes
buckets
cache linings
canoes
canopies
casts for broken bones
clothing
containers
cooking utensils
cradles
cups
designs
dippers
dolls
doors
drums
dyes
embroidery
fans
figures, totems, etc.
firewood
flares
food for the dead
funnels
games
grinding sheets
hangings
hats
house coverings
illustrations
insulation
kettles
kindling
ladders
legends
letters
litters
magic
maps
maple sugar spiles
maple sugar sap kettles
maple sugar cones
mats
meat bags
medicine
messages
moose calls
music makers
muskrat calls
noisemakers
pack baskets
pails
paint
paint holders
paper
patterns
pillows
pipes
porcupine quill work
porringers
pouches
powder flasks
quivers
raincoats
rattles
receptacles
sails
sap containers
seed testers
sewing
shields
signs
smoke-hole flaps
smoke rack covers
splints
spoons
stencils
stone boiling
storage containers
stuffing
tinder
tools
torches
trays
utensils
waterproofing
wigwams
winding sheets
worming
wrappers

List taken from Uses of Birchbark in the Northeast by Eva L. Butler and Wendell S. Hadlock (1957).

 

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