Dene reflect on sacred tree on National Tree Day

On National Tree Day, the Dene are reflecting on a special tree that has a deep meaning for their people and will be featured in a new exhibit at Yellowknife's museum next month.

A large tree on the Yellowknife River is adorned with offerings, such as beads, coins and tobacco. Yellowknives Dene elder Chief Fred Sangris says the tree is part of the Dene legend of Yamozha, who's believed to have travelled the territory 8,000 years ago.

Sangris says at one time a beaver dam blocked the Yellowknife River.

"The water rose so high that it almost flooded the whole area up the river. Yamozha came and chased the beavers out," he says.

"But the beaver lodge was left there and he punched with a snow shovel, punched a hole in the beaver lodge, so the beavers… the whole dam was pushed to one side."

Sangris says after Yamozha chased the beavers away, many trees grew in the area, including the sacred one on the Yellowknife River. Now Dene elders say whoever goes up the river should stop and pay honour and respect to that tree.

"So for generations whenever we go paddle up the river, we go up to the tree and offer tobacco, offer things that we make, something that belongs to us, could be beads, could be a coin, or could be metal," Sangris says.

"We ask the tree to give us good life, to help us with this journey on this river but also to help us with the future."

Massive replica of tree at museum

Sangris is curating a Yellowknives Dene exhibit at the The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, which includes a complete replica of the sacred tree on the Yellowknife River.

"It has all this coins and other offerings in the tree. We tried to make it look like the tree on the river to give people the idea that this is a sacred tree, a very special tree, that goes back thousand of years or more and is tied to Yamozha," Sangris says.

The exhibit opens at the museum Oct. 3rd.