IMPORTANT NOTE

This web page is part of a web site that is no longer actively maintained by anybody at ANU SRES. It has been left on the web due to its apparent popularity (every time we've removed it, people have complained within 24 hours), but is presented AS IS - attempting to contact any individual named on the page is likely to fail, and the SRES webmaster doesn't want to hear about such failures or entertain any communication about updating of the page's contents. You have been warned.

Non-Timber Products Made From Paper Birch

[Introduction] [Tree Characteristics] [Birch Bark Canoes] [Why Birch Bark?][Birch Bark Collection]
[How the Bark is Formed][Birch Bark Canoes Today ][Conclusion]


In forests all over the world there are hundreds of products which are extracted from trees and used by people in their daily lives. A large majority of these are not always the most recognisable of products. In most instances it is common for a majority of product extracted from the forest to be those other than timber. All over the world there are products taken out of the forest that provide goods for people such as food, medicine, tools and many other products. However, this is largely unrecognised by people of European decent living in developed countries.
Most commonly, the people that are knowledgable about the non-timber products that can be found in the forest are the people who are native to the area. It is also most common for the people native to the area to continue to use these non-timber products because they are able to extract them for free from the forest. In many instances the products the natives take from the forest and make into items of their native culture are highly desirable to people of developed cultures. A common example of this is artistic or cultural pieces of the native culture such as the didgeridoo or boomerang in Australia.
The purpose of this essay is to look at the non-timber products that have been derived from one specific tree by the Indians of North America and used for many products for many of the past centuries. This tree species is Betula papyrifera, a member of the Betulaceae family, more commonly known as Paper Birch, White Birch, or Canoe Birch. The most well known use of paper birch involves its bark. The canoes that Europeans found the Native Americans making out of the bark fascinated them. Indians also used Birch bark to make numerous other things such as the coverings for their houses and baskets.
  This tree is a native species across the entire upper half of North America. The southern-most portion of its range reaches into the northern United State as far down as Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania and extends far up into northern portions of Canada. It is a pioneer species commonly inhabiting abandoned agricultural fields. It commonly grows to as much as 25 metres feet in height, 60 centimetres in diameter, and is often found in mature forests.


Map of Paper Birch's Range

The most striking feature of Paper Birch is it's white exfoliating bark. While it's bark is initially smooth and reddish brown. As a tree grows older the bark becomes bright white and readily peels into papery strips horizontal to the trees growth. On some of the very old trees it is possible to peel off large sections of the bark up to a foot in length and can be pealed readily when the sap is flowing. This characteristic, which is an extraordinary feature of Paper Birch, makes it one of the most readily identifiable tree species in its native land.


Picture of Birch Bark

Here are some links you can look at for more information on Paper Birch

Minnisota Power- Electric: The Right Tree Handbook | Paper Birch Information

A very important part of the lives of native North Americans was travelling on the vast number of rivers and lakes that made up their land. To do this it was necessary for them to be able to have a sturdy mode of transportation that would carry any of the items they needed to move long distances such as food and animal hides. They also needed something light enough to be easily lifted out of the water and carried overland a fair distance.
 


Painting of Canoe in Vermont Landscape

The canoes made primarily from bark proved to be the most reliable answer to all of these needs. Even though these canoes may look very primitive to most people in actuality they were among the most highly developed manually propelled watercraft. This is particularly interesting that the Native Americans were making these canoes numerous centuries prior to the Europeans arrival. Even more interesting is that the Native North Americans made these highly developed watercraft with 'Stone Age' tools.
Within the vast area in which Birch Bark canoes were made, many different forms and styles of canoes exist. The forms and styles vary across North America from one tribe to the next. Canoes also varied according to the various conditions for which they were made. Some canoes were made for use in rapid streams, others were made for used in open water streams, and others were made for used in water conditions that varied somewhere in between these two extremes. The design also depended on it end use. The canoes could vary from those built for the transportation of one or two men to ones used for hunting or fishing. Or the canoes could be designed for the transport of large cargo and crew, or a war party, or families moving to a new area.


Picture of a Real Birch Bark Canoe

Depending on the conditions for which the canoes were being made, the form of the boat was adjusted accordingly. In some of the boats the bottom would be formed into a V or a U shape, or it may have been formed flat. No matter what the form of the boat the most common material used was Birch Bark because of its easiness to be worked.
 

With all of the other products that could be found in the native forest throughout North America, one has to wonder why it was that the Native Americans preferred to use Birch Bark as the building material for their canoes. The primary requirement that the use of Birch Bark fulfilled for the material was light enough to enable a finished canoe to be carried long distances over land where there not trails.
Another benefit when using Birch Bark is that it is easily formed into the desired shape. The bark could be stretched by gentle and widespread pressure. It was elastic enough to allow for some moulding to the variable framework of the canoe. The bark could also be joined together in small odd-sized sheets to shape the hull. Birch Bark could be gored, or slashed and rejoined without the need for folding or crimping, thus permitting a smooth exterior surface to be attained. Even though it was flexible enough to be moulded, the bark was tough enough to be sewn in line with the grain, to add to the width of a sheet. This made it much easier to be able to make a variety of different forms and sizes of canoes. Birch Bark is also almost completely waterproof and resistant to rot and could be easily repaired in the wood without any special tools.
  To collect Birch Bark it was easiest for the Native Americans to fell a whole tree, making the removal of bark from the entire tree attainable. Once the tree was in a position that would allow for easy removal of the bark, a slit was made vertically down the tree and the rest of the bark was pealed off around the log. There was another method of collecting the bark from the tree which was less damaging to the trees growth, the evidence of which I have seen myself. This method required that the collector use a ladder to climb up the tree stem. Doing this the collector could obtain the bark from a large section of the trees stem without the need for spending the time to fell the tree. This method can be today in conjunction with forestry harvesting practices. In the area where I saw this method done, the person collecting the bark contacted the forester in charge of the harvesting of the forest and an agreement was reached were the person could take the bark of those tree which were to be harvested. In this manner, there were numerous products taken from tree rather than just one.
I have heard various arguments from different sources on the damage caused to the Paper Birch tree by the removal of its bark. Some say that there is no damage to the tree and it is able to recover and continue to grow after bark has been removed. This only seems likely if the vascular cambium of the tree is undisturbed. If there is some damage done to the trees it seems best that any collection of the bark is done in conjunction with harvesting for timber.
  Once the Birch Bark has been collected and prepared, it is ready to be formed into whatever product the maker intends. To make Birch Bark canoes, baskets and other product it is necessary for a frame to be made for the bark to be formed around. In the making of the frame, wood that was strong and durable and could be easily split was commonly used. This type of wood generally included Black spruce, White cedar, or larch and hard maples.
Once the wood was split into appropriate size the frame is laid out on the ground in its desired shape. The bark is then made to fit the frame. This may require pieces of bark to be joined, stretched or shaped in whatever way necessary to be able to cover the frame completely. To join two pieces of bark together it requires long, thin strips of animal skins to sew the pieces of bark together.
  When European settlers arrived into North America they were amazed at the capabilities of the Birch Bark canoes the natives made. Despite the relatively primitive means and tools with which the canoes were made the Europeans were amazed at the superior quality with which they were made. They were also amazed by the ability of such a lightweight canoe to carry a large and heavy cargo without sinking. As soon as they arrived Europeans took up the skills involved in making Birch Bark canoes and used them while travelling in the wilderness. As the resources were diminished and the need for canoes increased over time, Europeans altered the components of the classic canoe. Canvas was soon substituted for bark and nails were substituted for sewing.
Even though some of the basic elements were substituted, the designs of the original canoes have been carried on over the past couple of centuries since Europeans arrived. Today canoes are made almost as a form of Native American art. There are many stores and Internet pages from which the public is able to buy Birch Bark products made in similar fashion to traditional Native American art.


Examples of Birch Bark Baskets

These are some internet pages that you can look at for products using Paper Birch
Alaskan Birch Bark Baskets | Arts and Crafts - Mosses Galore


The development of products from Paper Birch bark is something that has been developed for many centuries by the native people of North Americas. With even the most primitive tools, they were able to create a great variety of high quality and durable products. Many such products produced from resources taken from the forest are things that non-native people would not see as having such uses. The use of the Paper Birch bark to make numerous products is a testament to this. Not only is the bark used in the making of canoes, but it is often used for making baskets.
Form another good reference on the production of Birch Bark Canoes of North America, look at:
The bark canoes and skin boats of North America by Edwin Tappin and Howard I. Chappelle

[ANU Forest Products][Non-Wood Forest Products][Bushfood]
Copyright 1999 The Australian National University
Author: The Mad American
Comment and Feedback
Date last Modified: 25/10/99
URL: http//www.anu.edu.au/Forestry/wood/nwfp/birch/Birch.html