18 - Friday, April 27, 1990 - North Shore News Cedar was native’s ‘tree of life’ LOCAL VEGETATION PROVIDED ESSENTIAL MATERIALS OLD GROWTH trees, such as the Lynn Headwaters cedar, and those in the Stein and Carmanah Valleys, have become a source of fascina- tion for many people. By BARBARA BLACK News Reporter They remind us of a history that extends hundreds of years before European contact with Canadian indigenovs people, when the land was sparsely populated and rela- tively unmolested. Over two hundred years ago (and possibly as far back as 2,000 to 3,000 years ago), native people dwelt on the fringes of the North Shore forests, along Burrard Inlet, Indian Arm and Howe Sound. To these people, the cedar was held in very high esteem, as its wood, bark, and roots provided the ma- terials for many articles in use in everyday life. The Skqomic or Squamish tribe, of North Vancouver, regarded the cedar as the Tree of Life. Says Siyam (Chief) Lois Guss. ‘We called it the Mother Tree for all the things it provided for our people.”’ The trees could be felled, planked or the bark stripped to provide materials for basketry, clothing, cooking implements, shelter and more. ” NEWS photo Paul McGrath SIYAM (CHIEF) Lois Guss poses with the beginnings of a cedar cape, woven by Siyam Lawrence Baker of the Squamish Band. Lawrence in- tends to take the cape with him to the upcoming conference of In- digenous Peoples in New Zealand. might be felled, from simply burn- ing it at the base, to burning and adzing, or chipping out wood with an adze and maul. Although he has never tried it himself, Siyam Lawrence Baker is familiar with the burning method whereby hot stones were set inside a chiselled out cavity and the burnt wood a ‘In every aspect of life, the cedar was used, from diapers, bowls, pillows and room dividers to sleeping mats.’’ **Just like today, there were dif- ferent specialists,"’ says Siyam Guss, ‘‘who would know the size of tree needed for what it was be- ing used for, and where to fell it.” Squamish language instructor Roy Baker explained that before mate- tials were taken from the tree a prayer was said, thanking the tree for providing the materials needed. On the northwest coast there were a number of ways the tree chiselled out. Or the base of the tree was simply set on fire and “they controlled it by putting wet clay on the tree,’’ above the burn site, says Siyam Baker. In yet another method, scaffolds were built around the tree’s base, two parallel grooves were chiselled into the bark and the wood was then split out from between the grooves, Felling a large tree could take as long as two or three days of skilled work. As Siyam Baker puts it,‘‘they used a lot of man- power and a lot of ingenuity.’’ Cedar trees could also be “‘planked’’, usually by specialists, by means of driving wedges into a log and splitting it, or levering off the plank with a crossbar. In either case, and done properly, the result was a straight, even board. Large trees could yield planks of enor- mous size, suitable for large-scale longhouses or other wooden struc- tures. Cedars were also hollowed out and laboriously carved to make boats of remarkable symmetry and grace, the envy of subsequent European visitors, and cedar wood was and still is prized for carving. Because of its sacred nature, boughs of the cedar were often us- ed in ceremonies and during prayers. In every aspect of life, the cedar was used, from diapers, bowls, pillows and room dividers to sleep- ing mats. Strips were peeled from the tree and woven or the fibres beaten into soft frays suitable for clothing. 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