Birchbark biting (Ojibwe: Mazinibaganjigan, plural: mazinibaganjiganan) is an Indigenous artform made by Anishinaabeg, including Ojibwe people,Indigenous Perspectives of North America: A Collection of Studies. Cambridge Scholars Publishing; 20 August 2014. . p. 210–. Potawatomi, and Odawa, as well as CreeNative American Almanac: More Than 50,000 Years of the Cultures and Histories of Indigenous Peoples. Visible Ink Press; 18 April 2016. . p. 1273–. and other Algonquian peoples of the Subarctic and Great Lakes regions of Canada and the United States. Artists bite on small pieces of folded birch bark to form intricate designs."Birch Bark Biting". The Canadian Encyclopedia
Indigenous artists used birchbark biting for entertaining in storytelling and to create patterns for quillwork and other art forms.
In the 17th century, Jesuits sent samples of this artform to Europe, where it had been previously unknown.Papers of the ... Algonquian Conference. Carleton University; 1995. p. 307–308. The practice remained common in Saskatchewan into the 1950s.Northwest dentistry. Vol. 38-39. 1959. p. 206.
Name Birchbark biting is also known as mazinashkwemaganjigan(-an) (by Northwestern Ontario Ojibwe) and njigan(-an) (by Wisconsin Ojibwe). In English, this has been described either as "birch bark bitings" or "birch bark transparencies."
Process Artists chose thin and flexible pieces of birch bark.Robert Rogers. Herbal Allies: My Journey with Plant Medicine. North Atlantic Books; 27 June 2017. . p. 54–. This kind of bark is easiest to find in the early spring.Erik M. Redix. The Murder of Joe White: Ojibwe Leadership and Colonialism in Wisconsin. MSU Press; 1 September 2014. . p. 150–. Using the eyeteeth to bite, the bite pressures can either pierce the bark pieces into a lace or just make certain areas thinner to allow for light to pass through.Frances Densmore, Chippewa Customs (1929, repr. 1979) If the bark piece is carefully folded, symmetrical designs can also be made onto it.
Uses Many of the designs that are used contain symbolic and religious significance to the Ojibwe and other tribes. Though the practice almost died out, an estimated dozen practitioners are active in Canada and the United States, some of whom display the craft in contexts outside of their original intentions to show evidence of this ancient practice. Birchbark bitings can be used in storytelling, as patterns for quillwork and beadwork, as well as finished pieces of art.Inspiring Women: A Celebration of Herstory. Coteau Books; 2003. . p. 250–. The holes created by biting are sometimes filled with coloured threads to create woven designs.Minnesota History News. Vol. 1-10. Minnesota Historical Society.; 1959.
See also Kelly Church, contemporary Potawatomi/Odawa/Ojibwe birchbark biter and black ash basket maker Angelique Merasty (Woodland Cree, 1924–1996), birchbark biting artist Wiigwaasabak: birch bark scrolls jiimaan: Canoe typically made using birch bark maniwiigwaasekomaan: Knife for harvesting birch bark wiigiwaam: Wigwam, typically made using birch bark wiigwaasi-makak: boxes and other containers made of birch bark wiigwaas-onaagan: dishes and trays made of birch bark Papercutting
References
External links National Anthropological Archives (Smithsonian Institution): Birch bark transparency Birch Bark Biting The First Nations art of birch bark biting Birch bark biting merges traditional skill and contemporary art