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Cedar bark textile is a material used byIndigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest in SouthwesternCanada and NorthwesternUnited States including Alaska. Historically, most items of clothing were made of shredded and woven cedar bark.[1]
The names of the trees that provide the inner bark material areThuja plicata, the Western redcedar, andCallitropsis nootkatensis, or yellow cypress (often called "yellow cedar"). Bark was peeled in long strips from the trees, the outer layer was split away, and the flexible inner layer was shredded and processed. The resultingfelted strips of bark were soft and could beplaited, sewn, or woven into a variety of fabrics that were either dense and watertight, or soft and comfortable.[2]
Women wore skirts and capes of red cedar bark, while men wore long capes of cedar bark into which somemountain goat wool was woven for decorative effect.[1]
Cedar bark is used inChilkat weaving and for weaving water-resistant hats.
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