Watap, watape, wattap, or wadab ( or ) is the thread and cordage used by the Native Americans and First Nations peoples of Canada to sew together sheets and panels of birchbark. The word itself comes from the Algonquian language family, but watap cordage was used and sewn by all of the people who lived where the paper birch tree grows. The cordage was usually manufactured from the roots of various species of conifers, such as the white spruce, black spruce, or Northern whitecedar, but could originate from a variety of species that sprouted root fibers with sufficient

tensile strength Ultimate tensile strength (also called UTS, tensile strength, TS, ultimate strength or F_\text in notation) is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials, the ultimate ...

for the required purpose. In a typical manufacturing process, the roots would be debarked, subjected to a lengthy soaking process, and then

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

ed or boiled to render them pliable for sewing. The roots could be left whole and used as cords, or divided into smaller fibers for twine.Willow, Anna J. Winter 2010. Cultivating Common Ground: Cultural Revitalization in Anishinaabe and Anthropological Discourse. American Indian Quarterly. Vol 34. No 1. pages 33-60.

Uses

Sewn birchbark panels were employed by the native North Americans of the Upper Great Lakes for a wide variety of purposes; the best-known, and one which required among the highest degree of craftsmanship, was the manufacture of light

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

s. Panels of bark, sewn together with watap and caulked with tree resin, could be used to create a vessel that would resist leakage to the point of being almost waterproof. The watap could also be used as part of the joinery for the structural elements of the canoe. Watap-sewn bark sheets and panels could also be used to make vessels and utensils for food storage and other household use. Examples of this packaging were called '' wiigwaasi-makakoon'', and the watap stitchery was often used as an element in the decoration and unique identity of the package. The peoples initiated into the heritage of the

Midewiwin The Midewiwin (in Ojibwe syllabics, syllabics: , also spelled ''Midewin'' and ''Medewiwin'') or the Grand Medicine Society is a religious society of some of the Indigenous peoples of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North A ...

, or ''Great Medicine Society'', kept records and aids to memory through birchbark scrolls sewn together with watap.

Linguistic heritage

The word "watap" entered European languages through

Canadian French Canadian French (, ) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Canadian French'' referred solely to Quebec French and the closely re ...

, and ultimately derives from the

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

word ''watapiy''. The wide use of the term in Cree indicates the importance of birchbark craft to that nation and the widespread presence of the paper birch and spruce in their historical homeland. The

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

peoples also extensively harvested and manufactured watap.

Geography

''Watap Lake'', also called ''Watape Lake'', and the adjacent ''Watap Portage'' are key elements in the Grand Portage from Lake Superior to the interior of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The lake and portage were of such historical importance that the boundary between

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

follows the length of the lake and portage today. ''Watab River'' in Stearns County, Minnesota, served as a boundary separating the Dakota peoples from the Ojibwa people per the 1825 First Treaty of Prairie du Chien.

References

{{reflist Native American relics Anishinaabe culture Cree culture Fibers

Uses

Linguistic heritage

Geography

See also

References