NORTHERN WHITE CEDAR - Nature's Nobility

Northern White Cedar

Good thing I took a photo of the sign (left) identifying this tree with the spiraling bark.  Yup, it's the Northern White Cedar that we saw this summer in one of our favorite campgrounds in Northern Minnesota.  

Yet another phenomenon of Nature......Cedar bark often twists round the trunk, revealing a spiral growth pattern. 

In the Ojibwe culture, the Northern White Cedar, or Grandmother Cedar, holds significant spiritual and practical importance.  It is one of the four sacred plants in the medicine wheel, along with tobacco, sage and sweet grass.  The Ojibwe people honor the tree with the name Grandmother Cedar, seeing it as a sacred gift and a symbol of longevity and strength. 

Native American cultures have shown remarkable endurance amid adversity.  The Northern cedar reflects the lasting traditions and stories passed down through the generations, symbolizing the strength and continuity of native people.  The Ojibwe have used this tree for centuries for food, medicine and building canoes, wigwam frames and other structures.  

Legend has it that Native Americans used the bark from this tree to make a tea that saved the French explorer Jacques Cartier and his crew from scurvy (deficiency of Vitamin C) in the 1500s.    

The deep respect for cedar is a rich tradition spanning thousands of years and continues to be culturally, spiritually and economically important.

"The heart's affections are divided like the branches of the cedar tree;  if the tree loses one strong branch, it will suffer....but it does not die.  It will pour all its vitality into the next branch so that it will grow and fill the empty place."