A wiigwaasi-makak meaning "birch-bark box" in the Anishinaabe language, is a box made of panels of birchbark sewn together with watap

Watap

Watap refers to 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...

. The construction of makakoon from birchbark was an essential element in the culture of the Anishinaabe

Anishinaabe

Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...

 people and other members of the Native Americans and First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 of the Upper Great Lakes, particularly in the regions surrounding Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

. Birchbark makakoon continue to be crafted to this day as heritage

Cultural heritage

Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...

 heirlooms and for the tourist trade.

Lake Superior-area geology is short in supplies of clay

Clay

Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

, making pottery scarce for the people who lived there. However, the paper birch grows in profusion in this area, and sheets and panels of its strong, papery bark can be cut and carved from a tree for use. Birchbark boxes played a key role in creating durable package

Package

Package can refer to:* Packaging and labeling* Package testing* Mail item larger than a letter* Chip package or chip carrier, in electronics, the material added around a component or integrated circuit to allow it to be handled without damage and incorporated into a circuit* Automotive package, in...

s and utensil

Utensil

Utensil may refer to;* A kitchen utensil, one of the tools of cooking and baking -- cookware and bakeware* A tool serving a set purpose.* The Dragon Throne, also called the "divine utensil" -- the rhetorical seat of power in the Empire of China * the Royal Utensils associated with the quintet of...

s for storage and everyday use. Skilled harvesting of the bark, done at the proper season

Spring (season)

Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...

 of the year, does not fatally injure the tree.

Well-made makakoon were close to waterproof, and could be used to store soluble goods such as maple sugar

Maple sugar

Maple sugar is a traditional sweetener in the northeastern United States and Canada, prepared from the sap of the sugar maple tree.-Preparation:...

. Important documents written on birchbark (wiigwaasabak) were placed in makakoon for safekeeping. Anishinaabe initiates of the Midewiwin

Midewiwin

The Midewiwin or the Grand Medicine Society is a secretive religion of the aboriginal groups of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North America. Its practitioners are called Midew and the practices of Midewiwin referred to as Mide...

 would often secure their numinous

Numinous

Numinous is an English adjective describing the power or presence of a divinity. The word was popularised in the early twentieth century by the German theologian Rudolf Otto in his influential book Das Heilige...

 items in a wiigwaasi-makak.

Exceptionally well-made makaks could be used as cooking utensils, although this use declined after the arrival of Euro-American traders in the 1600s with metal pot

Pot

Pot commonly refers to pottery, the ceramic ware made by pottersPot may also refer to:- Containers :* Plant pot or flower pot, a container in which plants are cultivated* Cooking pot, a stove-top cooking utensil* Chamber pot, a bedside urinal...

s and saucepans for sale. The makak would be filled with water and the foodstuff to be cooked, and then carefully hung over a campfire

Campfire

A campfire is a fire lit at a campsite, to serve the following functions: light, warmth, a beacon, a bug and/or apex predator deterrent, to cook, and for a psychological sense of security. In established campgrounds they are usually in a fire ring for safety. Campfires are a popular feature of...

 in such a way as to heat the water to the boiling point

Boiling point

The boiling point of an element or a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid equals the environmental pressure surrounding the liquid....

 while falling short of combustion

Combustion

Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...

.

Today

Anishinaabe craftspeople sometimes decorate their wiigwaasi-makakoon with dyed and undyed quill

Spine (zoology)

A spine is a hard, thorny or needle-like structure which occurs on various animals. Animals such as porcupines and sea urchins grow spines as a self-defense mechanism. Spines are often formed of keratin...

s from the porcupine

Porcupine

Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...

. The sharp quills are sewn into the surface of the box so as to create an abstract design or illustration

Quillwork

Quillwork is a form of textile embellishment traditionally practiced by Native Americans that employs the quills of porcupines as a decorative element.-History:...

.