Uses of Yellow Cedar

From NarratingLandscapes

Both Yellow-cedar and Western Red-cedar became an essential resource for Northwest coastal Natives, providing lodging, clothes, transportation and tools. There are a multitude of uses for Yellow-cedar since the bark is water resistant, the wood grain is straight with few knots, making it excellent for splitting into long, even, smooth planks 1. Some uses are unique to a particular group of Aboriginal Peoples, while others are shared by many. One thing that basically all coastal First Peoples had in common is that they carved implements from the tough, straight-grained wood of Yellow-cedar. From using the trunk of the tree for dugout canoes to the roots used for making bows, the First Peoples of British Columbia utilized each and every part of the tree, making sure that nothing went to waste and the tree was not killed due to over harvesting. Many items made from Yellow-cedar were traded between different First Nation groups, such as bows, baskets, canoes and/or clothing (to name just a few).

Some of the more common uses of Yellow-cedar included constructing dugout canoes, paddles, totem poles, digging sticks, dishes and clothing. Some groups only used this tree for a single purpose, such as the Sechelt who made bows only from the wood of young Yellow-cedars, while other groups, like the Vancouver Island Salish and Haida, made unique objects such as knitting needles and, more recently, bedposts.

The inner bark of Yellow-cedars, being much finer, softer and lighter in colour when dried, are considered to be more valuable than the inner bark of Red-cedars. This bark was used for decorating masks, weaving blankets, mats and hats, making capes and other clothing items. This inner bark is much softer than Red-cedars and, therefore, was preferred by many people along the coast who often interwove it with duck down, Mountain Goat wool or Black Bear fur. Bark was also shredded by many Aboriginal groups in order to make bandages and wash cloths for babies and any left over bits of wood was often used as tinder.

In addition to a number of uses of and products made from Yellow-cedar, the techniques used to obtain the wood and construct useful objects differed among each group. The Kwakwaka'wakw would soak the freshly peeled strands of bark in warm salt water for up to 12 days, after which they would pound it on a flat stone with a whale-bone beater to make it soft and pliable. After drying for around four days, the bark was stored until it was needed. The Chilkat Tlingit people of Alaska had a tendency to weave their famous Chilkat blankets with Mountain Goat wool over strands of Yellow-cedar bark.

References

British Columbia's Coastal Environment. 2008. "First Nations People on B.C.'s Coast prior to European contact". <http://www.educ.uvic.ca>.

Turner, Nancy. 1998. Plant Technology of First Peoples in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press.

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