Birch bark contains medicinal and chemical substances such as betulin that help preserve food and that prevents decay of the bark itself. Containers, with proper care and cleaning, could be used for ten years or longer. This basket collected sap from the tree. After the sap was processed into maple sugar, it was stored in another birch bark basket called a makuk.

     Women were primarily in charge of making birch bark containers. Bark was generally harvested in spring or early summer. Steaming or soaking the bark made it pliable so that it could be folded and stitched into a fluid shape. When not in use, containers would be carefully stacked in the house. Holes and cracks were patched to extend their use. This container, which has been patched, still retains the smell of the maple syrup it once stored. Text by Megan Berkowitz