TREES, PLANTS, & GRASSES

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The Trees

The trees provide the materials needed for building shelters and for making fire.  They give fruits and nuts. They are home to many creatures. Their roots keep the soil from being washed away. They take in carbon dioxide and give oxygen. They clean the air. They are beautiful to look at and give us a cool, shady place to sit on a hot, sunny day. The leader of the trees is the Sugar Maple because it is the first tree to wake up in the Spring. The Sugar Maple sap is called Sweet Water.  The Sweet Water can be drunk as a medicine or cooked down to make maple syrup or maple candy.  The sweetness is a reminder to the people of the sweetness of the gift of life. The Sugar Maple and all of the trees are part of the web of life and so are important in making sure that life as we know it can continue. The Sugar Maple and all of the trees are greeted and thanked each day by the Haudenosaunee.
Beaded Maple Leaf Pin, by Midge Dean, Seneca

The Grasses

 

The grasses provide a home and food for many creatures.  The grasses hold onto the soil so it isn’t washed away by the rain. The grasses give the people a soft place to sit and relax. The grasses are part of the web of life and so are important in making sure that life as we know it can continue. The grasses are greeted and thanked each day by the Haudenosaunee.

The White Pine Tree

 

The White Pine is a symbol of peace and unification for the Haudenosaunee.  It grows very tall and straight and so can be seen from very far away.  The needles or long leaves keep their green color all year long which is a symbol for constant watchfulness and alertness. The needles grow in bundles of five, which is a reminder of the original Five Nations, the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca Nations. The White Pine and all of the trees are part of the web of life and so are important in making sure that life as we know it can continue. The White Pine and all of the trees are greeted and thanked each day by the Haudenosaunee. The Peacemaker uprooted a White Pine and asked the people to throw their weapons of war into the hole so that the people of the future would not have to experience war.  (Thus, the expression “Bury the Hatchet”)The tree was replanted and is referred to as The Great Tree of Peace.  It is said to have four White Roots of Peace which reach north, south, east and west to the ends of Turtle Island. The four White Roots of Peace are a symbolic invitation to all peoples to accept peace.  (See the story of the Peacemaker and the formation of the Iroquois Confederacy.)






Strawberry Basket, 1970's by Christie Arquette, Mohawk

The Strawberries

 

The strawberry is the leader of the berries because it is the first one to ripen.  All of the other berries follow in their time. The strawberry is food, but it is also a medicine. The strawberry is also known as the Big Medicine. Eating strawberries or drinking strawberry water is very healthy. The strawberry, all of the berries and all of the medicine plants are part of the web of life and so are important in making sure that life as we know it can continue. The strawberry, all of the berries and all of the medicine plants are greeted and thanked each day by the Haudenosaunee. The strawberry is an important medicine plant.  In the Thanksgiving Address it is specially thanked as a hanging fruit, growing among the grasses, just above the earth.  It represents beginnings -- the beginning of warm weather and a productive agricultural season.  Strawberries are said to grow along the road to the Sky World which is reached by the Milky Way.