Trees and Traditions: Maine Indians and the Forest

Today, over 90-percent of Maine is tree-covered—the highest percentage of any state in the United States. Maine's forests are integral to the state's culture and economy, and shape our way of life. Northern Maine's forests are boreal and are composed of balsam fir, white spruce, and paper birch. Forests in the southern half of the state are typical of northern hardwood forests and are composed of maple, beech aspen, ash, and white and red pine.

For Maine's Native People, the forests traditionally provided a wide range of resources, including shelter, transportation, and medicine. They also provided habitat for game animals—deer, moose, beaver, fox and rabbit. Maine Indians used these resources wisely, taking only what was needed and using all parts of what they took.

At the time of European contact, explorers found Maine, a “high country full of very dense forests.” In 1605 James Rosier wrote of finding forests of great old oaks growing in widely scattered open fields with birches, hazels and strawberries. On higher elevations he noted spruce and pine and places that resembled stately parks. Each of these trees had specific uses for Maine Indians. This Curriculum Connection teacher's guide introduces five tree species—black spruce, white birch, gray birch, white ash and brown ash—and describes these trees and how they were used. The information on the trees provides background these classroom activities:

1. Introduce students to trees around your school. Identify the different species from their leaves, bark and shapes. Use the illustrations on this page or at http://www.scarborough.k12.me.us/high/projects/trees/ or a field guide to assist with identification of trees. Discuss which tree species are indigenous to Maine and which aren't. Discuss how the different tree species are used, focusing on indigenous species and how Native People harvested them and what they made from each species.

2. Have your students make a “birchbark” container and decorate it with traditional design motifs or do the Bookmark Activity as a classroom project.

3. Visit http://www.earthbow.com/native/algonquin/glooskap.htm and read the Glooskap legends. Discuss the relationship between the forests, people and animals with your students.

Black Spruce

Black Spruce ( Picea Mariana ) is an evergreen. It stays green all year long and keeps its leaves or needles. Black spruce grows in poorly drained soils and can reach a height of thirty to fifty feet.

Maine Indians traditionally used black spruce bark to make a black dye. From the roots of the tree, they made “thread” for sewing birchbark. The roots grow very near the surface and can be pulled from the ground easily.

Spruce root is small in diameter but it is flexible, durable and tough. The roots are dug up with a sharp stick or by hand. A single root can be up to 20 feet long, but will be no thicker than the diameter of a lead pencil. When the root is harvested, it is soaked in water and cleaned. Then it is split into a flat “thread” and is used to sew birchbark canoes, containers, and wigwams.

Black spruce resin was used to seal the seams and areas that had been sewn with spruce root. Black spruce resin—spruce gum—was scraped from the tree, melted and combined with animal fat to make a resin that made birchbark items watertight.

White Birch

White 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 traditional 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. For a list of the early uses of birchbark, click here.

To harvest bark from a tree, cuts would be made at the top and bottom of the section to be removed. The two cuts would be connected with a third vertical cut. Care was taken to remove only the tree's bark not the cambium or wood. Using wooden wedges, the bark would be removed from the tree and rolled up until needed. Maine Indians harvested both Winter and Summer bark. Winter bark was harvested before the sap ran in the Spring and was thicker and sturdier than summer bark. Winter bark would be stored in a pool until needed and would be reserved for canoes and wigwams, while summer bark was generally used to make containers and decorative items.

Birchbark objects are often decorated with incised designs and sewn together with black spruce root. Objects can also be decorated with porcupine quills or moosehair embroidery.

Gray Birch

Gray birch ( Betula Populifolia ) is found mainly in the southern part of Maine, often growing in old fields, burned over areas, and heavily harvested forests. Most gray birch grow in clumps, reaching a height of only 20 to 30 feet tall. The tree is short-lived, reaching a diameter of four to eight inches. The tree's leaves are triangular in shape, approximately two to three inches in length. They are double-toothed and are arranged in an alternate pattern on the tree's branches.

The bark of the gray birch can be removed from the tree, but not easily The outer bark is a grayish white while the inner portion of the tree is a darker orange brown. The tree's wood is light-weight and course-grained. A blue dye can be made from the rotten wood of gray birch.

Maine Indians traditionally use gray birch for root clubs—a Northeastern weapon form. Young gray birch saplings are harvested by digging around the root system and pulling the tree out of the ground. Rootlets, branches and leaves are removed, leaving the root ball and a portion of the tree's trunk. The club is then carved. The carver releases the spirit in the wood—making visible animals, plants, spirits and humans in the wood. The club's stock is often decorated with chip carved motifs—plant designs as well as animals and the carver's signature or mark. The root ball often have human or spirit faces as well as birds and forest animals.

White Ash

White ash ( Fraxinus Americana ) grows best in rich moist soils on low laying hills. This tree can reach a height of 60 to 70 feet tall and 13 to 15 inches in diameter. The bark of a white ash is a dark brown or deep gray. The wood is generally hard, strong, and tough. The leaves are opposite and dark green in color.

Maine Indians used white ash to make snowshoe frames and white or rock maple or ash was used to make the wooden crossbars. Maine Indian snowshoes are about three times as long as they are wide and can have either a rounded or square toe and a tail of five or more inches.
To make a showshoe bow, the ash is cut with a crooked knife into one long strip of rifted ash. The bow is steamed and bent and the tail is pinned together with metal nails, wooden pegs or rawhide lashing. Snowshoe infilling was made from the untanned hide of white deer. White ash was also used to make arrow shafts and its bark made a yellow dye.

Brown Ash

Black or brown Ash ( Fraxinus Nigra ) , as it is known in Maine, is a relatively common tree. It grows in bogs and swamps and along banks of streams. This tree thrives in rich, moist soils and commonly reaches a height of 50 to 60 feet tall and 10 to 20 inches in diameter. The bark of a brown ash is gray. When harvested, the tree's wood feels wet and logs eight feet long and eight inches in diameter weigh over 100 pounds.

Brown ash is used to make all kinds of baskets—work and fancy.
Traditionally, men harvest and pound brown ash logs. Logs selected for basketmaking are straight, eight to 10 feet in length, six to 12 inches in diameter and weigh over 100 pounds. To produce splints for basketmaking, the entire log is pounded with the back of an ax or a sledge. The pounding causes the wood to separate along its annual ring growth, producing raw material that is fashioned into splints that may be used to weave work baskets, such as pack and potato baskets, or with additional preparation may be used in making more delicate fancy baskets.

Sweetgrass

Sweetgrass, ( Hierochloe Odorata ) , a fragrant, salt marsh grass, is also used in Maine Indian basketmaking. The grass is picked, gathered and then hung to dry. Special wooden combs are used to clean the chaff from the grass. Before it is used, it is soaked in water to make it soft and pliable. The grass can be woven in a couple strands at a time or it can be braided.