Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada
We are sure the Band will only strip modestly in the park as it would be a shame if many, many trees were altered from nature.
The "weaves"
Detail of side of cedar bark basket
Inside of a cedar bark basket
Bottom of a cedar bark basket
Side of a cedar bark basket
Starting to pull the strip
Dionne Paul, Cultural Coordinator, SIB with a role of stripped bark.
BARK STRIPPING
Only trees about the diameter of a telephone pole are satisfactory. There is only about a 6 week window when the sap is running right. A cut through the bark about one foot wide is made horizontally in the bark about 5 feet up the tree. Small vertical cuts are made at each end and then the 'U" shape is pried away using a knife. This 'tail' is then grabbed and pulled so that the bark strips away from the tree in a gradually narrowing band all the way up the tree maybe as high as 60 feet. This produces a 60 foot long piece of bark.

The outer bark is taken off the softer core and the whole thing cut in strips about 1 inch wide and soaked in water. It matures for about a year. The strips are then woven into baskets, hats and bowls for ceremonial and day to day use. You can see fine examples at the Sechelt Museum.

You can see specimens in the Grove that were stripped this way scores of years ago. Within a year or two the edges of the strip start to heal and then new bark forms over the patch. Only a scar can be seen soon as the tree recovers fully. These scars are important as they identify "culturally modified" trees and these identify areas used by the natives dating back hundreds of years.
See an album on the bark stripping process - CLICK HERE
It is part of the mandate of the Hidden Grove that the natives' right to carefully gather traditional plants and parts thereof be preserved as it fits the philosophy of what we hope to accomplish with the Grove. It can be educational and a bridge between the cultures. This is set out in the overall Plan for the Grove. We always saw the Grove as an educational asset as children can learn about traditional ways and some of the gap might be breached.

On several occasions your committee met with the Band and once with the Elders to explain our goal and to seek the support of the Band in our efforts. We  received a letter of support. See letter


As an aside, the original name we used was the Hidden Grove Park. The Band pointed out to us that the rules governing a 'park' might stop the traditional gathering of materials by Band members. In deference to this we changed the name to the Hidden Grove Legacy.
Archeological Find
On the green trail spur into the powerline area a routine check for artifacts has turned up a "Exhausted Lithic Core" (See deinition below). Marks have been put in and the small area will be logged by hand so as not to further compact the land. Later explorations may reveal more!
In archaeology, a lithic core is a distinctive artifact that results from the practice of lithic reduction. In this sense, a core is the scarred nucleus resulting from the detachment of one or more flakes from a lump of source material or tool stone, usually by using a hard hammer percussor such as a hammerstone. The core is marked with the negative scars of these flakes. The surface area of the core which received the blows necessary for detaching the flakes is referred to as the striking platform. The core may be discarded or shaped further into a core tool, such as can be seen in some types of handaxe.