A family paddles on the Yellowknife River last summer. A movement is afoot to protect a tree held sacred by the Yellowknives Dene along the river. - Walter Strong/NNSL file photo |
Sacred tree to be protected
Museum to exhibit model of spruce rooted in ancient Dene history
Evan Kiyoshi French
Northern News Services
Published Friday, February 6, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The spruce tree rooted at the centre of Dene mythology is on its way to being recognized as a cultural landmark.
Randy Freeman, traditional specialist for the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, said the sacred tree was where Sir John Franklin set up his camp on the banks of the Yellowknife River.
It will be the feature of a exhibit coming to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre under the condition it can be given protection by the territorial government, said Freeman.
Mary-Rose Sundberg, director of the Goyatiko Language Society in Dettah, said the tree is believed to have been the work of Yamohza - a legendary Dene hero - who rammed a scoop into the ground after dismantling a giant beaver dam, delivering the Dene from flood.
Sundberg said the tree is supposed to have grown out of one of the holes dug by the scoop. She said the tree was also the hiding place of Former Yellowknives chief Akaitcho, who served as a guide and interpreter during Franklin's first exploration of the Arctic.
She said Akaitcho used to look out from a rocky hill nearby, in search of approaching visitors or enemies.
"Akaitcho was a big guy," she said. "He used to be able to hide behind the tree."
Freeman said the project is far from complete. A model of the tree to use in the museum exhibit has been presented to elders for approval.
"There's a lot of work yet to be done on it," said Freeman. "We're hoping to put a fence around the tree, but the tree is on private land. We have to negotiate with the owner of the private land, and make absolutely sure all the elders are on side, because they've tended not to tell ... people about Yamozha, because of that tree."
Franklin placed his camp near the tree as a provocation, said Freeman.
"Over many days, Akaitcho agreed to take him north," he said.
"That was always an important place for people wanting good luck on their travels up river. It was one of the major routes up ... where the caribou were."
The exhibit at the museum will feature a replica of the tree, said Freeman. If all goes as planned, the tree will be registered with the NWT Cultural Places Program, to cement it as a cultural and archaeological site to protect it.
"So if anyone goes in and disturbs it, they could be fined $2,000, or thrown in the lake or something, I'm not sure how that works," said Freeman.
"I'm in a sticky situation when it comes to telling somebody about it because people have been making offerings to it for hundreds of years."
Barb Cameron, director of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, said the project has been coming together for two years and she's excited to be working with the First Nation in celebrating its history.
"This is important because it tells history, and things that are important to them," she said. "It's an opportunity for the Yellowknives Dene to come and see their own story about the river, including the sacred tree, and some of the islands and outcroppings and how they came to be."
The exhibit is tentatively planned to open June 21.
