Tuesday 22 May 2012

Bark, Bark, Bark

My husband and I took our baby camping this past weekend in Fundy National Park, New Brunswick. May-long is always a great time to get out and celebrate the start of summer and this year the weather actually co-operated.

We did a fair bit of hiking and because I harvest my bark in early summer, I'm constantly keeping an eye on the trees to see if they're close to being ready.  I was really excited to see the state of the birch throughout the park; they're starting to shed which means it's almost harvest time!

In the old days, it was time to harvest when the fireflies came out. These days, it's not quite that straight forward. The weather patterns have changed quite a lot and as a result, I find that harvest times fluctuate. Last year, our spring in Nova Scotia was cool and wet so the trees weren't ready until July; the previous year, I was out in June.

This year, we've had a warm spring so I'm hoping that I'll get out early. I'll be over in PEI in a few weeks and it would be great to harvest while I'm there. My mom usually comes with me and it's great to get out and exercise our Aboriginal rights together. Last year we harvested on Lennox Island First Nation, which is where my grandmother was from and where my mom lived when she was little.  There is nothing quite like the feeling of being out on the land doing something that Mi'kmaq have done for centuries to give you a sense of the strength of our culture.

I've not always been able to time things as well as I did last year. The window of opportunity is quite small and I have to harvest when the trees are ready regardless of what's going on with life.  I'll never forget the year my mom and I were helping my sister with her new baby and had to head out to the woods because the trees were ready.

Fortunately, I still have enough bark from last year to see me through the next couple of months. When I first started, I didn't know how much to get and I ran out in February. I called around to the few people I could think of who harvest bark and might have some stored mid-winter. Luckily, work took me to Miawpukek First Nation in Newfoundland. The Chief had just made a birch bark sweat lodge and let me help myself to the leftover bark. I'll always be grateful for that and hope he enjoyed the quillwork I sent him in exchange.

Keep your fingers crossed for me that the trees are ready when I'm on the island!

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