Coast Salish Peoples
The Importance of the Cedar Tree
The Coast Salish believe their Creator gave their people the cedar as a gift. Their ancestors,
like their people today, offered a prayer to honor the spirit of the tree. They harvest cedar
roots, bark, wood and branches. Cedar touches every part of their lives. Their ancestors
taught them the importance of respecting it and understanding how it is to be used, so that
it will be protected for future generations. Cedar is the perfect resource, providing tools,
baskets, bowls and carvings in addition to having medicinal and spiritual purposes. Every
part of the tree is used, and nothing is wasted.
Outer bark
The thin, grayish outer bark of the tree is layered with long, string-like strips.
Inner bark
The cedar’s inner bark is separated into strips or shredded for weaving.
Processed bark is used like wool and crafted into clothing, baskets and hats.
Growth layer
This is the growing part of the tree that adds a new tree ring every year.
Its health depends on sunlight, snow and rain.
Sapwood
The soft sapwood is nearly white and carries water from the roots to the
tips of the branches.
Heartwood
The heartwood looks reddish-brown and contains a rot-resistant oil substance
that protects the wood. The wood is durable and flexible — the perfect material
for houses, canoes, bowls and masks.
A Valuable Resource
Tulalip teachings say that the male branches of the cedar tree are at the top,
reaching toward the sky, while the female branches reach down to the ground like
arms protecting their children. The female branches nestle into the earth and send
out new roots to create saplings. The cedar withes are the small lower branches.
They are used for the spokes of clam baskets and to make cordage for tying boxes
and bundles. Small cedar branches are also used to make fish traps.
“Using two or three strands of branches, our ancestors
tied a knot on one end and began twisting each strand
to the right. They then crossed the twisted strands to
the left, creating a naturally strong and flexible rope.
This is something we still do today.”
— Joy Jones Lacy,
Cultural Resources Department, Tulalip Tribe
A Daily Resource
Can you visualize the ancient forests? The cedar trees were huge and abundant,
coming down to the water’s edge. Old-growth cedars averaged 230 feet tall and 65
feet in circumference. Coast Salish people respected the giant cedars that reached
into the sky. The wood was lightweight, easy to split and rot resistant.
Tribesmen were very skilled at splitting planks from living old-growth cedars to
make benches, paddles and a variety of useful items. A bentwood box made from
one of these planks would store tools and other provisions. Among the tools would
have been stone mauls, cutting knives with blades made from stone or mussel shell,
drills with bone bits, adze blades made from beaver teeth or elk horn, and yew-
wood wedges.
The cedar’s size and straight grain made it perfect for the construction of
longhouses. The largest “big house,” or cedar-plank house, of the Snohomish was
at Hibulb. It was 115 feet long and 43 feet wide with a single pitch roof. Some roof
planks were left loose so they could be pushed aside to allow smoke to escape, or
adjusted, depending on weather conditions, making the inside comfortable.
“Cedar is like our mother. Our whole
lives were encircled with cedar.”
— (Jerry) Dennis Jones,
Tulalip Master Carver (1940–2003)
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Above images courtesy of The Hibulb Cultural Center Collections.
