Shéiyi - Sitka Spruce - Glacier Bay Ethnobotany

Can you identify a sitka spruce from the other coniferous trees in Bartlett Cove?

NPS Photo / S. Tevebaugh

Shéiyi
Sitka Spruce

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Common in coastal areas, shéiyi is very important to the Huna Tlingit. Sitka spruce is highly valued for its many uses: canoes, paddles, baskets, buckets, cooking pots, fire starter, halibut hooks, rope, nets, hats, thread and more. Dug in early summer, the roots are cooked, peeled, split, and bundled for making baskets and rope-like materials.