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The sticky resin (also known as pitch) from the white spruce tree has traditionally been used by people around Alaska to treat wounds, rashes, burns and abscesses.
Listen to Howard Luke, Dene Athabascan from Fairbanks, Alaska, talk about the traditional use of spruce pitch. Or read the transcript (ORAL HISTORY 96-35, Part 1).
Listen to Bertha Moses, Athabascan from Allakaket, Alaska, talk about using spruce pitch on a cut. Or read the transcript (ORAL HISTORY 2004-17-14).
Listen to Jack Reakoff of Wiseman, Alaska talk about using spruce pitch to prevent the infection of a cut he sustained while butchering a moose. Or read the transcript (ORAL HISTORY 95-50-05, Part 4, Side A).
Listen to Howard Luke, Dene Athabascan from Fairbanks, Alaska, talk about using spruce bark as a tea. Or read the transcript (ORAL HISTORY 96-35, Part 1).
Listen to Emily Willis of Skagway Alaska talk about various ways she uses tree resin. Or read the transcript (ORAL HISTORY 2018-14-01, Part 1). To learn more about how Emily Willis uses and grows plants, listen to her full interview in the Observing Change in Alaska's National Parks Project Jukebox.
Listen to May Walton, Iñupiaq from Selawik, Alaska, talk about using spruce resin. Or read the transcript (ORAL HISTORY 2018-04-02).