"birchbark and elm bark were used throughout the northern regions of North America to make baskets and boxes. Also canoes and other items were made from bark. Houses were covered with bark. It is a very useful and durable material. Birchbark gathered in the wintertime, has a brown color on the inside. That gathered in the summertime is a much lighter color. The dark winter bark can be scraped down to the lighter layer to make a design. For the area around the dark part can be scraped to make an opposite type of design. Birchbark is used with the white outer bark facing inward. The exterior design is made by scraping off the inner bark layers. Another way of decorating the bark, is by applying porcupine quills. This is often done on the lighter summer bark which is harder to decorate through scraping."