The birch tree was one of two sacred trees that were given to the aboriginal peoples of N America. Many native tribes of the northeast have utilized the paper birch and its gifts, but we will focus on the Abenaki and the Obijwe. The Abenaki used the bark of the paper birch for the construction of tools, boots, paper, maps, roofing, and perhaps the most impactful use- canoe building. “The omnipresent and fast-growing White Birch tree is the source of perhaps the single most useful material in traditional Abenaki technologies,” The canoe can be seen to have helped the tribes with hunting and gathering, traveling, and transporting goods for trade. The birch bark presents an impermeable feature that makes it perfect for constructing a wigwam roof or canoe. The cambium of the bark that is harvested from the paper birch gives the bark its waterproof quality.

            The Obijwe tribe, known more familiarly as the Chippewa Tribe, occupied much of the northern United States, with high inhabitance in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Ontario in Canada. Known also as the “Puckered Moccasin People”, these native inhabitants traded with the French and fought in both the French and Indian War as well as in the American Revolution, siding with the British against the Americans. The Obijwe were avid hunters, gatherers, and fisherman and often engaged in the fur trade. Common agriculture practices included the harvesting of corn and root crops. The paper birch, known to the peoples as wiigwwas, was used commonly in the daily lives of the tribe. Most useful to the Obijwe was its role as a building material; the bark of the birch tree was used to build lodging shelters called wiigiwams. The bark was used to cover the dome-shaped lodgings, and when it was time to move settlements, the cover was easily rolled up and transported for further utilization on the next wiigiwam.Other uses of the bark of the paper birch included the constructing of tools and canoes. Vessels were made to hold syrup, and then were buried in the ground with means of preservation for future use and sale.

To access the traditional Obijwe story of creation, visit: http://www.ndstudies.org/resources/IndianStudies/turtlemountain/historical_intro.html