Sheiila Brown

It is the giving time of year, and a time to count our blessings. In the Pacific Northwest, we can give thanks to the Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata) for the many ways it contributes to our contemporary life. Like all plants, Redcedar uses carbon dioxide during the day to make sugar for energy and contributes to the oxygen balance in the atmosphere. And if allowed to live, the cedar can help people to breathe better over the thousand years of its life span.

Redcedar timber is known for its resistance to decay, and is a popular choice for outdoor construction in the form of decking, shingles, siding, and other housing and furniture items. Some people use it to line closets and chests because its pungent, aromatic oils are believed to discourage moth and carpet beetle larvae. A well-sealed redcedar chest will sustain this bug repellent quality for many decades, sometimes for more than a century.

Because of its incredible lifespan, planting redcedar in our forests is a priority. They prefer to have shade to reproduce and therefore make a good tree to plant under our deciduous trees. The forest hillsides around West Seattle are second growth deciduous trees that are dying now because they are as old as they get (45 to 65 years). Camp Long itself was part of a clear cut bought by the City of Seattle from Puget Mill in the 1930s, and many of our Red Alders and Big Leaf Maples are dying or falling due to old age. Humans are replacing the mixed conifer forest of the past by planting Redcedar, Douglas-Fir and Western Hemlock. This helps us achieve a more diverse and balanced forest ecosystem, which helps protect our water and our land.

The First Peoples of the Northwest also had and have many uses for red cedar that range from drugs to food to fiber to dyes. Redcedar wood is used to make huge canoes in which the men go out to sea; it is used to make totem poles, houses, masks, helmets, armor, boxes, utensils, tools, and many other art and utility objects. Bark and roots were woven into rope, baskets, clothing, rain hats, and even diapers.

There were many medicinal uses for cedar, spiritual uses and cleansing uses. "A Coast Salish myth says the Great Spirit created redcedar in honour of a man who was always helping others: 'When he dies and where he is buried, a cedar tree will grow and be useful to the people -- the roots for baskets, the bark for clothing, the wood for shelter.'" (from Pojar, Jim and Andy MacKinnon (eds.). 1994. Plants of the Pacific Northwest coast. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine.)

No other plant was more important to all the native peoples of the Pacific Northwest than the Western Redcedar. It is called the 'tree of life' by the Kakawaka'wakw, and has blessed the people of the Northwest with its many gifts past, present and future. Give a little of yourself to your community and your environment like the Redcedar this year, and help create a better life for everyone.