Pinaceae Pinus banksiana Lamb.

Jack Pine

Potawatomi - Fiber, Sewing Material

Use documented by:
Smith, Huron H., 1933, Ethnobotany of the Forest Potawatomi Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 7:1-230, page 113

View all documented uses for Pinus banksiana Lamb.

Scientific name: Pinus banksiana Lamb.
USDA symbol: PIBA2 (View details at USDA PLANTS site)
Common names: Jack Pine
Family: Pinaceae
Family (APG): Pinaceae
Native American Tribe: Potawatomi
Use category: Fiber
Use sub-category: Sewing Material
Notes: Roots used as a heavy sewing material. The roots extend near the surface of the ground through the sandy soil for thirty to thirty-five feet and were easy to pull out of the ground in their entire length. When they were gathered they were made into coils and sunk beneath the surface of the lake until the outer bark had loosened from the root. Then, they were peeled and split in half, each half being a serviceable cord for sewing together canoes and bark strips intended for the roofs of wigwams and for other purposes.

RECRD: 340 id: 27382