The power of a tree: why birch and its bark are so important to Anishinaabe culture | Wiigwaasabak

Summary

The video explores the profound connection between the Anishinaabe people and the birch tree, often referred to as the tree of life. Essential to the cultural and daily lives, birch provides materials for baskets, canoes, and more. The documentary follows the journey of Helen Pelletier and other community members as they reconnect with their heritage through birch harvesting and craftsmanship. They share the healing, spiritual, and ancestral significance of birch, highlighting how it strengthens identity and community ties.

Highlights

• Birch is more than a tree for the Anishinaabe; it's a cultural cornerstone. 🌳
• Helen Pelletier and her community use birch to reconnect with their cultural roots. ❤️
• Crafting birch into functional art forms strengthens cultural identity and bonds. 🧺
• The birch tree's natural properties make it crucial for survival and daily life. 🌿
• The video empowers Anishinaabekweg women, emphasizing connection and support. 💪

Key Takeaways

• Birch trees are a vital part of Anishinaabe culture, symbolizing life and sustenance. 🌳
• Helen Pelletier and other women are reconnecting with their heritage through birch harvesting. 🧺
• The birch tree offers materials for essential items like baskets and canoes, enhancing mobility and storage. 🚣‍♀️
• Birch crafting is a cultural heritage activity that strengthens community and identity. 🪡
• The documentary emphasizes female empowerment and intergenerational learning. 👩‍👧‍👧

Overview

The video begins with a lively introduction featuring the beats of indigenous dubstep music and an acknowledgment of the audience's presence, setting the tone for a journey through the cultural landscape of the Anishinaabe people, particularly focusing on the birch tree. The birch tree, or wiigwaasabak, is introduced as a crucial element in the community, offering not just materials for daily living but also spiritual and ancestral connections.

Helen Pelletier, one of the main subjects, embarks on a personal and cultural exploration, guided by Audrey Deroy, a knowledge-keeper. Together, they delve into the history and significance of birch, crafting it into baskets and other traditional items. The process of harvesting and crafting is portrayed as a spiritual journey that reaffirms Helen’s connection to her ancestors and her role in passing down knowledge.

Throughout the documentary, the narrative poignantly highlights the broader themes of female empowerment and community resilience. As Anishinaabekweg women like Helen share their stories and crafts, they foster a sense of peace, identity, and heritage, underscoring the importance of cultural and familial bonds in overcoming adversity and celebrating life’s simple wonders.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Nimiigwechiwendam: Introduction by Ryan This chapter introduces the podcast series "Stories from the Land" with music reflecting Indigenous culture. Ryan begins by acknowledging the importance of Gichigamiing, or Lake Superior, setting a legendary tone for the episodes to come.
• 00:30 - 02:00: Significance of Birch Bark in Anishinaabe Culture This chapter explores the integral role of birch bark in Anishinaabe culture. Birch bark, particularly from the wiigwaasabak or birch bark tree, holds significant cultural value for the Anishinaabe people, often referred to as the tree of life. The chapter illustrates how this versatile material has been indispensable for generations, from crafting mikak or birch bark baskets, to serving as a material for waterproof boat-making and providing fast-burning wood. This connection highlights the deep-rooted relationship between the Anishinaabe people and the natural world, specifically how their cultural practices align with the seasonal cycles and resources available from the land.
• 02:00 - 04:00: Helen Pelletier's Journey to Reconnect with Culture The chapter titled 'Helen Pelletier's Journey to Reconnect with Culture' discusses Helen Pelletier's personal journey of cultural reconnection. Helen is utilizing a canoe to traverse one of the largest lakes in North America as a part of this journey. She feels a calling to work with materials that help her reconnect with her cultural roots and the land. To deepen her understanding, Helen seeks guidance from Audrey Deroy, a knowledge-keeper within her community. Audrey aids Helen in recognizing the relationship between the tree used for the canoe and the Anishinaabe people, highlighting the spiritual song related to the Creator that is significant within their culture.
• 04:00 - 06:00: Crafting with Purpose and Learning from Audrey The chapter explores the concept of 'art' from the perspective of the Anishinaabe culture. It emphasizes that there is no direct translation for the word 'art' in Anishinaabekwen, which reflects the cultural understanding and integration of art as a way of life rather than a separate entity. The chapter includes elements of traditional practices, such as drumming and chanting, and gives prominence to appreciating and seeking guidance from the Creator in these practices. Audrey's reflections help to convey the significance of creating with purpose and intention, rooted in cultural values and spirituality.
• 06:00 - 09:00: Harvesting Materials and Making Connections with Nature This chapter explores the traditional crafting of birch bark baskets, known as mikak, which are used for gathering berries and other foods. The chapter emphasizes that while these items may look like art, they serve practical purposes in daily life.
• 09:00 - 11:00: Personal Healing and Cultural Connection The chapter titled 'Personal Healing and Cultural Connection' delves into the emotional and spiritual bond that individuals, particularly within indigenous communities, share with nature. A conversation with Helen Pelletier reveals the profound love and connection she feels towards the birch tree. This connection is metaphorically described as a love story, emphasizing the deep appreciation for the birch tree's scent, feel, and the comforting sound of its leaves. Importantly, the birch tree is recognized for its medicinal value, highlighting its role in the healing traditions of indigenous peoples.
• 11:00 - 14:00: Reviving Traditional Craft: Teaching and Learning The chapter titled 'Reviving Traditional Craft: Teaching and Learning' focuses on the significance of traditional crafts in daily life and their connection to nature. It touches on various parts of a tree, from leaves to roots and bark, and emphasizes their role in providing life and shelter, as well as tools for transportation like canoes and water vessels. The narrator reflects on the memories of making baskets using red willow, a skill and practice revived in adulthood, linking back to the importance of cultural heritage and traditional knowledge.
• 14:00 - 18:00: Ancestry and Wisdom of Trees The chapter titled 'Ancestry and Wisdom of Trees' explores the personal and cultural significance of trees, particularly the birch tree, in the narrator's life. The narrator shares a childhood memory of learning about nature and the importance of identifying safe plants from a parent. The birch tree holds special meaning, representing a connection to home and nature. Harvesting bark is described as a personal and usually solitary activity, emphasizing the deep personal bond and respect for nature's resources.
• 18:00 - 23:00: Family, Heritage, and Continuing Traditions The chapter explores the themes of family, heritage, and the renewal of cultural traditions. It highlights the powerful emotional experiences individuals undergo when reconnecting with their cultural heritage, particularly through the lens of women returning to their roots. The speaker expresses a deep love and respect for their craft, emphasizing a personal bond and sense of honor in creating items from birch bark. This connection signifies a broader appreciation and commitment to preserving cultural practices and traditions.
• 23:00 - 26:00: Art, Culture, and Community - A Vision for the Future The chapter titled 'Art, Culture, and Community - A Vision for the Future' involves a conversation between Ryan and Helen about gathering natural materials for craft-making. Helen shares her fondness for finding dogwood on her walks for crafting purposes, specifically for making rims of baskets. She also discusses the timing of harvesting birch bark, emphasizing the importance of a relationship with nature in her work.
• 26:00 - 27:00: Conclusion: Connection to Culture and Community The final chapter, titled 'Conclusion: Connection to Culture and Community,' emphasizes the cultural significance of traditional practices. It describes the process of going out into nature regularly to gather materials, such as tree branches, for crafting. The chapter highlights the importance of selecting the right size and flexibility of the branches for creating items like baskets. By involving such traditional methods, the community maintains a connection to their cultural heritage and practices. The act of checking and cutting birch trees is used as an example to illustrate this deeply embedded connection and cultural continuity.

The power of a tree: why birch and its bark are so important to Anishinaabe culture | Wiigwaasabak Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 (Indigenous dubstep music playing) One, two. One. Mic check. Yep. We're good. Nimiigwechiwendam. Thanks for tuning in. This is Stories from the Land. ♪ Ryan: Gichigamiing, or Lake Superior, is a legendary lake.
• 00:30 - 01:00 Along its shores, Anishinaabe people have made their home for generations. This land presented one of the most versatile materials that became a staple for Ojibway people: mikak or birch bark basket, from the wiigwaasabak or birch bark tree, often described as the tree of life for Anishinaabe people. Indigenous people have a relationship with this tree that is rooted with the connection of the seasons. It provided so many things for Indigenous people, from fast-burning wood to waterproof boat-making material,
• 01:00 - 01:30 using canoe for traversing one of the largest lakes in North America. For Helen Pelletier, the call to work with this material was a call to reconnect to her culture and to reconnect to the land. Helen has called upon Audrey Deroy, a knowledge-keeper from her community, to help her understand the connection between this tree and the Anishinaabe people. (drumming) This song is about the Creator,
• 01:30 - 02:00 giving thanks to Creator and asking Creator to (unclear). (drumming continues) (chanting) (chanting and drumming continues) ♪ Audrey: There's no word for "art." According to, you know, the Anishinaabekwen,
• 02:00 - 02:30 all the things that we make, like the birch bark baskets, the mikak, it's something that we would use. A container that we would use to collect berries, to collect all the different foods that we would be gathering. (chuckling) Everything might look like art, but it all serves a purpose in life. (chanting and drumming continue) ♪
• 02:30 - 03:00 (Shouting) Uh-huh. Miigwech. Helen Pelletier: When you talk about the birch, I get so emotional because I know the love you feel. (both laughing) It is like, you know-- It is a love story for me, that connection to the birch tree. And, like, the smell of it, the feel of it, listening to the leaves blowing, and the medicine that it gives to our people
• 03:00 - 03:30 in every single form. Like, right from the leaves right to the roots of the tree, the bark of the tree. It gives us life. It gives us our shelters, our jiimaan, our transportation on the water. Our mikaks, you know. And our water vessels that are folded to collect water and bring it to your camp. And I just think, like, even the old-times, old-school way of making our little baskets with the little miskwaabiimizh, with that red willow, this is stuff that came back to me when I was an adult.
• 03:30 - 04:00 Like, my mother didn't show me this when we were in the bush, and teaching me a little bit about the medicines, and not to pick anything until she was around, because she wanted to make sure we didn't eat anything that was poisonous, right? - Yep. - And so-- But the birch, the birch is-- Yeah. The birch tree, it really means a lot to me. Like I said, I've travelled many miles to come back home to hug the birch tree. Whenever I go out on the land to harvest the bark, it's usually not a very large group of people.
• 04:00 - 04:30 But when they come out, you just feel it's so powerful. Like, I've witnessed that over and over again with different women that are coming back to their culture, coming back full circle. When I make things, it's because I really, truly love it, and I want to share that with people. Yeah. So, I'd never want to disrespect it. I feel like there's, like, an honour system between me and the birch bark. (laughing) Yeah. Right.
• 04:30 - 05:00 Ryan: What are we looking for? Helen: This is my favourite spot for looking for dogwood. When I come for a walk down this road, that's what I like to gather. I use the dogwood for the rim of the baskets, or a rim for anything that I'm making. I harvest my birch bark in late June, early July, maybe August. We have to have that relationship
• 05:00 - 05:30 of going out on the land every day and testing the tree and checking the trees. Is this one, like, the width you need? - Is it, uh-- - It's a nice size. Like, it's not a huge basket, so it'd be a nice size, like, rim. Like, if you look at it, how bendable. (twig snapping) See, when I cut the birch like this-- And sometimes I'll do a couple of lines
• 05:30 - 06:00 just to make sure I get down to where the cambium is, and I do this, nothing's happening. Hmm. Normally, if it was the proper time of the year and it was ready to be harvest and the tree was releasing the sap that we needed it to be, this would pop right off. Yeah. When we harvest the bark in the summer, everything pops right off so nicely. It's like it's meant to be. (bark cracking) And again, that's that relationship.
• 06:00 - 06:30 Keeping in contact with this tree. I know now that it's not this time of the year. Like, it's just not. For me, these trees are teachers. It teaches me all the time. And we're so lucky as the Anishinaabe to have this as our tree of life, to teach us and let us know and build and give. And I just-- I'm fascinated by birch. I read somewhere that after harvesting dogwood and talking about the trees, that traditionally, we would follow it up with hot chocolate. That sounds great.
• 06:30 - 07:00 - Yeah. Let's go. - I'll let you lead. - I'll lead the way. - Okay. Thanks. (both chuckling) Ryan: Knowing when to harvest the materials from the land is one challenge that Helen faces. Sometimes, materials are harvested months in advance. The next challenge is learning how to actually work with the traditional materials. Helen: So, these are black spruce roots. I'm going to stitch together baskets. We use the roots for wigwams.
• 07:00 - 07:30 We use the roots for canoes. Sometimes it's easy to peel if you split it. Like, I might do this four times before I peel it. - See right here, Bess? - Yeah. Helen: It's so dry it will crack. Yeah. So, this half, I'm going to stick back in the hot water to try and absorb more water. So, when we go out to harvest the roots, Bess is one of my buddies that goes with me. I always like someone-- It's nice to go with someone and have, like, especially family that you could share this knowledge with.
• 07:30 - 08:00 But, like-- And also, someone to watch your back while you're in the bush. I got diagnosed at 29 for leukemia, acute myeloid, and it's a blood cancer. I never thought in a million years that would happen to me. And I had little babies, you know, and it was a really dark time for me. I went through four rounds of chemo
• 08:00 - 08:30 and it was, like, hell. There were times where I thought I was going to, like, die. I was in remission for six months and then it came back, like, the same month. I was living next door to Helen. I remember that day. I just, like, ran to her house, crying. I, like, fought again and I won, and I'm here today. (laughing) Helen? Like, she's always been one of my mentors.
• 08:30 - 09:00 My teachers, you know? And I feel like she's always there as a support and always there to, like, teach me new things. Being able to, like, create things, really makes me happy and it gives me, like, positive outlooks in my life. So, yeah. When I, like, do this stuff, it really makes me feel like I'm more connected to, like, my ancestors.
• 09:00 - 09:30 And it makes me feel like I know myself more, you know? And I'm, like, learning who I actually am, and that's why I keep doing it. Helen: We're going to teach Bess how to make a moose call. I like to just go past, but when you're done, make it line up. Okay. So, for now, we'll just go a little bit past. Okay. But once we get to the point where you're about to finish,
• 09:30 - 10:00 line it up. Not quite yet. I want to put a rim on the inside, too. So, that's going to make it completely secure... Okay. ...inside and outside, and it won't split on you. So, again, this is split cedar. So, you know, when we have the cedar, it's just a tree that's been split. - Mm-hmm. - It's actually pretty nice. I don't like to cut it because we don't know the length,
• 10:00 - 10:30 and I don't like to waste, 'cause I like every little piece of material I have, right? What do you think? Does that look good? - Yeah. - You like that? - Yeah. It looks good. - Okay. So, when you get, like, right here, I notice that it's a little bit higher than the rim. You just take the knife and just shave it off. To me, these birch are citizens of my community, just as the maple are. (bird chirping)
• 10:30 - 11:00 I bug her to make things, because you get happiness and healing from bark. Bess: Yeah. It really makes me feel good, because it's, like, I like crafting. I like making things, and-- Helen: Like, I've heard you a million times say that it feeds your spirit. Yeah. And when I think about spirits, I think about ancestors, and they're always with us. Yeah. Bess: Like, it provides me with the sense of a security that I know how to build a home in the bush
• 11:00 - 11:30 without anything, that I know that. - So, a sense of independence? - Yeah. So, when I make things that connect me to our ancestors and their work that they've been doing for hundreds and hundreds of years, I feel like, okay. I know where I am and I know who I am, and I know where I belong. Mm-hmm. And that's really hard when you struggle with identity growing up. We don't speak Ojibway, but we live on a reserve. So, anything that makes me walk the path where I'm connecting to who I am
• 11:30 - 12:00 is just going to feed that spirit, like you say. It's about giving back love and my energy, right? Anything I make, anything, any baskets and that I pass on, it's because I wanted them to know that I'll always be there or surround them with good, positive energy, I hope. I'm very happy with this basket. I think it's pretty.
• 12:00 - 12:30 There. She's now made her moose call. (calling, laughing) You're going to make me laugh. (calling, laughing) There you go. Try it in there and see. Okay. Okay. Don't film me yet. Wait. Just let me practise first. Helen: But it's not real, though. It's just-- - This is going to Canada. - It's not even going to-- (calling) Bess: Like that? (laughing) (calling)
• 12:30 - 13:00 Good job. Yeah. - And she's ready to pass it on. - Yeah. Ryan: Just off the shore of Fort William First Nation, the form of a man can be seen lying in the water: the Sleeping Giant. Ojibway stories identify the form of the giant as Nana'b'oozoo, the spirit of the deep water
• 13:00 - 13:30 who was turned to stone when the secret location of a rich silver mine, now known as Silver Islet, was disclosed to white men. Fort William First Nation borders the city of Thunder Bay, and much of the community sits along the shoreline of Lake Superior. Fort William First Nation relies on the strength of its elders to help navigate the realities of living next to a large urban centre and the impact it has on the community's way of life. Audrey: Uh-huh. Bonjour.
• 13:30 - 14:00 (speaking Ojibway) And I'm from the beautiful place of poplars, actually. (laughing) The French call it Lac des Mille Lacs. And when I became connected with these trees, when my mum and them used to sit beside a fire, and she'd always be peeling that birch bark off the tree and burning it in the fire-- So, my mum didn't make the baskets, but it was in me. - It's in my blood. - Yeah.
• 14:00 - 14:30 I knew that right from when I was a little girl, that I loved the birch tree, right? Like, I had been running away from myself in my young life because, you know, like, I had trauma, addictions. And then later on in life, coming back, like, full circle, back to the culture, back to the way of life. I know that my ancestors are walking with me, you know? I felt them as a child. I've seen them as a child. I knew I had that strength within me to learn whatever it is that our ancestors knew.
• 14:30 - 15:00 These trees have been here way before we got here. - Mm-hmm. - They're helping us. Those beings were here before us, and they agreed to have us here as long as we took care of these beings, all the tree beings that give us life each and every day. What was your intention in going out to harvest that bark? I wanted to learn everything about Anishinaabekweg way of life, because that's the culture I was identifying with. My mother was Anishinaabekweg, and that's where my pull was. 'Cause I denied my culture for a long time.
• 15:00 - 15:30 Helen: The cabin has been a part of our family for about 38 years. It's, like, so peaceful, so relaxing. This place is my home. When I come out here I get super emotional because, like I said, this was a place my dad took us with my mom. So, there's a lot of memories here.
• 15:30 - 16:00 And even after the day she passed away, and I hid here for days. Within 13 months after my mom passed away, I had a little girl. I named her Daanis, which means "daughter" in Ojibway. Daanis Lorna Ann. Lorna Ann is my mom's name, so my daughter Lorna Ann is basically what I called her. She was born with the biggest, greenest eyes, and my mother had those eyes. I remember being pregnant, praying for that.
• 16:00 - 16:30 (speaking Ojibway) My name is Daanis Pelletier. My Ojibway name is Animikii Binesi, which means "thunderbird." I'm Eagle Clan, and I'm from-- I always say (speaking Ojibway), which is the mountain. I think my mom's art is right deadly,
• 16:30 - 17:00 'cause it's, like-- My entire life I've seen her working on, like, beading or some sort of, like, birch bark, some sort of project. And it's, like, awesome to see that. She's fully, like, put her fully working on that. Like, no longer having a different job. She's fully in, like, her art now. I think it's awesome to see that she is enjoying it more and, like, loving spending her time doing-- Like, it's on her terms,
• 17:00 - 17:30 and working on her art fully and learning, like, her style. Finding a style, all that. I think it's, like, right deadly. That's the only way I can describe it, is just right deadly. Helen: I always encourage you to, like, ask your aunts for knowledge and advice and not just to look to me. We've always felt it so important to get a well-balanced group of knowledge-keepers
• 17:30 - 18:00 who are beaders to support her. I'm blown away. I've never done that before. It was inspired by Katie Longboat and her, like, work. I saw it in the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. I can't remember which-- Breath and Beads, when we did that show there. They had another show there, too. She had, like, a bunch of works and it was, like-- I thought it was cool because she used one colour and in the colour there was, like, patterns that you could see coming through,
• 18:00 - 18:30 and I just wanted to test something out like that. So, I went with something more simple, and so far I've been enjoying this. There's a-- I can't remember the quote exactly. I think it's a quote by Louis Riel, where art is what will bring back, like, the culture. So, that's why I think art is very important, because everyone has their own form of art that they, like, use or practise. And through that art, we could, like, learn more about our culture, share knowledge and, like,
• 18:30 - 19:00 share teachings with others through sharing our art. I notice, like, when we're talking, it's all about the women who have impacted you in your life. Yeah. My whole life, I've always had strong women who always had a major impact on my views and the way I see the world. And I feel like it's beneficial to support other women.
• 19:00 - 19:30 I feel like her journey into this is very inspirational, because it shows that if you want to work on art and make money off of art, then you can do that and you can find a way to live off that. So, this is the website I've been working on. When you click on "About Us," it goes to a page that shows me and you. I'm so proud of you, and I'm so happy you did this for me. And thank you so much for making my life easier
• 19:30 - 20:00 and our life easier. Audrey: When I think of all the medicines and the roots and the sweetness of the roots and that, and I look at that tree and I look at, you know, the fungus that comes from that tree when it's dying, and the medicine, I think of all that when I look at a birch bark basket. That's just-- The medicine is right there. (speaking Indigenous language) The water to the sunlight,
• 20:00 - 20:30 for the earth and for that, that tree gives us that breath of life. And so, that's another thing. We can't forget about everything that this whole environment gives to us. (drumming)
• 20:30 - 21:00 (chanting) (chanting and drumming continue) ♪ Ryan: For Anishinaabekweg Indigenous women,
• 21:00 - 21:30 the world can feel like it's stacked against them. I've been told every day can feel like navigating a world of trip wires for them. In Fort William First Nation, these four incredible women from different generations, they share a sense of peace, of identity, spirit and strength: strength that can only come with support. Strength that comes from connection, connection to the land, connection to culture and connection to each other.
• 21:30 - 22:00 There is not a word for "art" in Anishinaabemowin, but there is a word for "community," for "creating" and for "love." ♪