ABSTRACT
In North America, no tree has played so leading a role in its history as the white pine. For the Iroquois, the white pine was a powerful symbol of peace. In the 1400s, it helped unite the tribe’s six warring nations in a pact that endured for centuries. In the 1600s and 1700s, access to magnificent old-growth stands of white pines was a key driver of British colonization, as the 200-foot pines were a premier source of masts for the Royal Navy and were sold to shipbuilders in Spain, the West Indies, and Madagascar. The King of England’s declaration that the trees belonged to the Crown instigated “white pine riots” among colonial farmers, helping catalyze the Revolutionary War. After independence, key aspects of the US Constitution were modeled on the Iroquois Federation’s governance system. Recently, the symbol of the white pine has been resurrected by evangelicals and right-wing activists and used to incite insurrection during the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. As the rupture between people and trees expands, climate uncertainty grows, and peace dwindles, vital knowledge about trees, their history, uses, and traditions, can enhance understanding and empathy – attributes integral to wise stewardship of the earth.
