Catherine Vo-Nguyen

Boesch
Human Nature
Journal 1

To understand the significance of the tree, we must first look at the surrounding
environment and landscape of the terrain that the tree is in. The first chapters goes very
thoroughly and vividly describing the forest and the extrinsic feeling of life moving around you
and feeling as if you can become enveloped. There is a line in the book that mentions that in
those forests, the boundaries between life and death, between one species and the next, blur and
blend (page 8). This brings me back to Le Guins concept of lines and the way we perceive
things in the world by placing categories and labeling things as a way to organize our world.
However in these forests, there are no lines. Man is within nature and the nature in man will be
exposed as well. Who is there to place these boundaries that separates man from his surrounding
wilderness? No one. A man and a tree are in a sense the same.
The science behind the trees in these forests, particularly the Sitka spruce, begins at a
biological point. They are perfectly made to grow in the Pacific Northwest; They have high salt
spray tolerance so they are able to nestle between the edges of the forest and the sea. Growing
around 300 feet or higher and weighing around 300 tons or more, they are able to withstand wind
storms that would decimate other species. Not only are they the largest species of spruce, they
are also the longest living species, up to 800 years. A very interesting fact is as tall and big and
mighty as it is, the Sitkas begin life as a seed weighing only 1/13,000 of an ounce. Not only that,
its chances of survival is similar to a human sperms. Humans begin as a microscopic cell that
develops into an intelligent being with vast knowledge and endless capabilities. This correlation
of the beginnings of tree and man (humble and small to majestic and capable) to me is really
unique and represents the blurred distinction in species.
The Haidas lives, as well as the lives of all coastal Indians, depended heavily on tree.
Everything they needed to survive they could make out of a tree. Spruce roots were made into
hats and baskets, clothing were made with bark and wood. Masks, totem poles, houses and
canoes represent the staple of art and culture for the Haida and for North American
craftsmanship, all of these things literally created from trees. Trees are a crucial part in the
lifestyle of the Haida as the book has demonstrated. Without these totem poles and masks that
are left behind through the decades, there would be no trace of these Native tribes legacy.
Skilay, whom is one of the most powerful member of the Haida tribe, was erected a grand
totem pole and a mask that would be worth thousands of dollars called his spirit mask,
representing his power and the amount of love and respect his tribe had for him. These objects
are symbolic of the legend that is left behind by their tribes great leaders, and embody a spiritual
aspect. At the end of one of the chapters, the image of the Haida lifting the enormous totem pole
made for Skilay parallels an image of the reverse process for cutting down a tree, to resurrect a
tree. This was so powerful to me when I read it, because the pole that represents a leader, a
guardian, a protector, was being supported only by the people who surround it aka the Haida,
parallels to the image of a group of people who care about trees and the forests lifting a tree back
to life and resurrecting it.
The abundance and plentiful resources of the forest led the Europeans to sail the seas to
do trade with the Natives. This therefore leads to lots of violence and atrocities that man commits
stemming from desire and greed. When blinded by greed and fortune, both the Europeans and
the Natives viewed each other as less than human, causing their animosity and humanity
to blur together. Being in the wild I feel brings this out in people.
As the timber industry became popular through the demands for European nations to
build planes, deforestation and forest clearings happened constantly. However at time, there were
so much trees that people found ways to cut it all down in order to create something that was
deemed productive. The bountiful trees were viewed as waste and worthless, taking up space
of land in order to build and advance. Again blinded by greed and striving for prosperity, the
goals of those times were to clear down as much trees as possible and clearing out forests in
order to master it, fulfill the mandate of manifest destiny, and turn this infinity of trees, and the
land on which they stood, into something productive (page 65). This is really frightening
because at the time, people really felt like there was an infinite amount of trees, that they could
just continue to fell it and use up all the trees for their needs, or simply just cutting them down
for space, and that perhaps they would grow back. There were no thoughts of conservation, the
seemingly endless amount of timber could be drained and drained for monetary purposes, for
prosperity. At the time people did not think of the consequences their actions would create. A
tree that stands connected to Earth by its roots, a living piece of the planet, is reduced to a dead
object, viewed as raw materials and resources that are cut down for personal uses and gains.
What is the identity of tree really anymore?