Spruce 🌲

Some nations used spruce bark to build their canoes. However, for the Huron-Wendat, spruce bark was not the ideal material for making the traditional covering for their boats. The Huron-Wendat used spruce primarily for its roots and resin. In building a canoe , they used spruce root that had already been cut, peeled and cleaned to sew the pieces of bark together and attach them to the wooden frame. Spruce gum was mixed with bear grease to make a water-proof coating that was used to caulk the boat’s seams.