| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Potawatomi Fiber, Building Material Bark furnished a waterproof cover for the top of the wigwam. Smith, Huron H., 1933, Ethnobotany of the Forest Potawatomi Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 7:1-230, page 112 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Potawatomi Fiber, Canoe Material Bark furnished the outside cover of the birch bark canoe. Smith, Huron H., 1933, Ethnobotany of the Forest Potawatomi Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 7:1-230, page 112 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Potawatomi Other, Cooking Tools Bark used to make many of the household utensils, storage vessels and containers. Smith, Huron H., 1933, Ethnobotany of the Forest Potawatomi Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 7:1-230, page 112 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Shuswap Drug, Analgesic Plant used for pain. Palmer, Gary, 1975, Shuswap Indian Ethnobotany, Syesis 8:29-51, page 60 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Shuswap Fiber, Basketry Gray colored bark used to make baskets. Palmer, Gary, 1975, Shuswap Indian Ethnobotany, Syesis 8:29-51, page 60 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Drug, Orthopedic Aid Bark used as casts for broken limbs. A soft material such as a cloth was placed next to the skin on the broken limb over which birchbark was wrapped and tied. The birchbark was then heated until it shrank to fit the limb. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Fiber, Basketry Bark used to make baskets. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Fiber, Basketry Bark used to make containers for cooking. To cook in a birchbark basket, clean rocks were made very hot and then placed in water in the basket. This process was repeated until the cooking was completed. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Fiber, Building Material Bark used as roofing material. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Fiber, Building Material Bark used in the construction of some buildings. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Fiber, Canoe Material Bark used to make canoes. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Fiber, Clothing Bark used to make hats. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Fiber, Furniture Bark used to make baby cradles. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Fiber, Snow Gear Wood used to make bowls, spoons, wedges, tool handles, drums, toboggans and snowshoes. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Fiber, Snow Gear Wood used to make snowshoes, toboggans, drums, bowls, spoons and wedges. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Food, Unspecified Raw sap, sometimes mixed with fish grease, used for food. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Food, Unspecified Sap used for food. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Containers Bark used as lining in food storage pits. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Containers Bark used as lining in storage pits. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Containers Bark used to make containers for storing food and picking berries. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Cooking Tools Bark used to make containers for storing food, picking berries and cooking. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Cooking Tools Wood used to make bowls and spoons. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Cooking Tools Wood used to make bowls and spoons. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Fuel Black colored stem growth used as tinder for kindling fires with a fire drill. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Fuel Black stem growth used as tinder for starting fires with a fire drill. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Fuel Wood used for firewood. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Hunting & Fishing Item Wood used to make spears for hunting bears and bows for hunting both large and small game. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Musical Instrument Wood used to make drums. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Musical Instrument Wood used to make drumss. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Protection Bark made into broad rimmed hats used by young, menstruating girls to restrict their vision. The broad rimmed hats prevented them from looking where they were not supposed to. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Tools Wood used to make the bow of the fire drill. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Tools Wood used to make wedges and tool handles. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Tools Wood used to make wedges. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Thompson Drug, Cold Remedy Sap tapped from trees in early spring and taken for colds. Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 189 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Thompson Drug, Contraceptive Bark used for contraception. One informant recalled a case in which a woman in childbirth did not want any more children. An old woman told her to take the afterbirth, stick it with an old bone awl, wrap it in fishnet and then in a piece of birch bark and place it high up on a particular kind of tree. The patient was then given an infusion of bitter cherry or saskatoon wood and after that had no more children Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 189 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Thompson Drug, Cough Medicine Sap tapped from trees in early spring and taken for coughs. Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 189 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Thompson Fiber, Basketry Tough, waterproof bark used as material for baskets. Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 189 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Thompson Fiber, Building Material Tough, waterproof bark used as material for walls and roofing. Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 189 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Thompson Fiber, Canoe Material Tough, waterproof bark used as material for canoes. Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 189 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Thompson Fiber, Furniture Tough, waterproof bark used as material for cradles. Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 189 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Thompson Other, Containers Tough, waterproof bark used as a material for lining storage caches. The bark was particularly important in the storage of food. It could be stripped off in fall when it was quite papery and could be split into thin sheets. These were weighted down with rocks to flatten them and then used to line the bottoms of berry baskets to keep the baskets from getting stained. The bark was also placed between layers of dried salmon in storage and used in the storage of cooked roots such as lily corms. Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 189 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Thompson Other, Cooking Tools Tough, waterproof bark used as a material for wrapping food. The bark was particularly important in the storage of food. It could be stripped off in fall when it was quite papery and could be split into thin sheets. These were weighted down with rocks to flatten them and then used to line the bottoms of berry baskets to keep the baskets from getting stained. The bark was also placed between layers of dried salmon in storage and used in the storage of cooked roots such as lily corms. Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 189 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Thompson Other, Decorations Bark used for decorations. Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 189 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Thompson Other, Paper Bark used for paper and cards. Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 189 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Wet'suwet'en Other, Containers Bark used to make containers and waterproof wrappings. Gottesfeld, Leslie M. J., 1992, The Importance of Bark Products in the Aboriginal Economies of Northwestern British Columbia, Canada, Economic Botany 46(2):148-157, page 154 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Wet'suwet'en Other, Lighting Used to make torches. Gottesfeld, Leslie M. J., 1992, The Importance of Bark Products in the Aboriginal Economies of Northwestern British Columbia, Canada, Economic Botany 46(2):148-157, page 154 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Winnebago Other, Toys & Games Papery bark chewed to a pulp and used for popgun wads. Gilmore, Melvin R., 1919, Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region, SI-BAE Annual Report #33, page 116 |
| Betula papyrifera var. papyrifera Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Haisla and Hanaksiala Other, Decorations Wood used for carving. Compton, Brian Douglas, 1993, Upper North Wakashan and Southern Tsimshian Ethnobotany: The Knowledge and Usage of Plants..., Ph.D. Dissertation, University of British Columbia, page 226 |
| Betula populifolia Marsh. Gray Birch USDA BEPO |
Iroquois Drug, Hemorrhoid Remedy Decoction of bark taken for bleeding piles. Herrick, James William, 1977, Iroquois Medical Botany, State University of New York, Albany, PhD Thesis, page 300 |
| Betula populifolia Marsh. Gray Birch USDA BEPO |
Malecite Drug, Dermatological Aid Inner bark scrapings used for swelling in infected cuts. Mechling, W.H., 1959, The Malecite Indians With Notes on the Micmacs, Anthropologica 8:239-263, page 245 |