Working with Cedar

From NarratingLandscapes

Having never worked with cedar bark, I was excited to give it a try when the opportunity arose in my Ethnobotany class. I am quite proficient at working with wool, hemp and embroidery thread, so I was surprised at just how difficult I found using cedar bark fibers as a medium. Granted, I only had a quick lesson from my TA, Molly Malone, on how to strip smaller fibers from a larger piece of bark, which were then woven together to make bracelets or baskets or hats

. I learned that it is important to work with the bark when it is wet. This allows it to become more pliable and therefore easier to work with. However, the bark dries quickly, especially when you are working with just thin, narrow fibers as opposed to wider ones, and then becomes more brittle and liable to breaking or splitting. Due to this property of the bark, it is important to keep a bucket or large bowl of water to dip or soak the bark in as soon as drying begins

As I watched Molly work with the bark and then working with it myself, I began to understand why these skills were and are taught to each generation of Indigenous peoples through demonstration and example. The ability to create objects of art and practical items is not something that can be learned simply by following written instructions. I realized that passing these traditions on to the younger generation serves several purposes. It is a way of people to socialize, to connect, to talk about the importance of culture and family and tribe. It is a way of preserving history.

Although I did not attempt to weave any elaborate baskets, hats or mats, I did manage to braid a few bracelets and construct a small doll out of the cedar bark and I found that the more I practiced working with the wood, the easier it became

. After the class had a chance to experience making something from cedar

, I wanted to find out their thoughts and feelings about working with this material. Here are some of the impressions the students had about using cedar as a material.

“I first learned how to work with cedar at Musqueam, with Vivian Campbell. I had visions of these perfect little bracelets at first, but quickly realized how tricky it would be. Over time, though, the glow of the cedar really came through, and I was able to make some pieces that are really (rendered) unique by the colours within the bark, not by my hands. Now I wear them all the time – they’re gorgeous."- user:Malonem

“When I first sat down to work with the cedar, I was not thrilled. It looked ratty and soggy and hard to work with. After I got started though, I couldn’t stop! It’s so easy and fun and it looks great when it’s dried. I find myself thinking of future creations.” – user:Cian Zybutz

“Of all the fibers, I really wanted to do the cedar. I have been to the Museum of Anthropology a few times and have seen the canoes and bent wood boxes and things, so I was excited to be given the opportunity to make something myself. It was really tricky to work with because the bark starts to dry out so fast and the drier it was, the harder it became to work with. I didn’t try anything really ambitious, just made a bracelet, but it was pretty cool thinking of how you would construct some of the larger scale items after seeing the work that goes into a small scale item. Julia’s woven basket was a good example of this because it looked like it took a lot of work, but it was so small. At the same time, it’s work that doesn’t really feel like work because it is so stimulating and you’re using your hands. The whole experience really made me envy and think about the way that First Peoples live their lives because they operate on completely different ways of learning and interact with their environment in a really different way that I feel like we are missing out on.” – Kwaku