12 Jul Favorite Part of Internship so far…

So far the favorite activity I have personally done was going birch barking. We do this every few years, to repair panels for the wigwams or when we build our canoes. As shown above we are getting a panel that is about 12-13 feet in length, it is ideal to get bigger because if it is too long we can cut it.

When going out to harvest birch bark, we usually put out Asemaa (tobacco) to thank the tree and the spirit world for having this opportunity to do this. Once that is done, we figure out what tree we want. The bigger, the better; once we find that, we want to cut it vertically. If cut horizontal, it will kill the tree. The cool thing is, if the tree is ready to peel, once it is cut, the bark will start popping off on its own, making the job way more manageable. Over the next couple of weeks, this will be the park’s main priority, so it will be great.