Nina Czegledy
Commentaires fermés sur Nina CzegledyNina Czegledy
Follow the Sign
Toronto, Canada
Artist, curator, University of Toronto and Ontario College of Art and Design University
Jill, my Anishinaabe friend introduced me to a mysterious Marker Tree in one of the inner city parks in Toronto inhabited by the Iroquois and Mississauga’s before the Europeans arrived. One unique characteristic of the marker tree is a horizontal bend several feet off the ground, which makes it visible at greater distances even in snow. Oak and maple trees were used for their durability and ability to retain shape. From time immemorial Marker Trees of Indigenous People guided travellers on a network of trails and paths from place to place. According to historical research these trees were pointing towards fresh water springs, a waterway, a settlement, or safe river crossings. Trees would also guide people to copper deposits, to areas abundant with medicinal plants or plants used to make dyes for ceremonial rituals also to ancestral burial sites. Marker trees differed from tribe to tribe notably however, the entire network extended between north/southeastern groups of Indigenous people across North America. Now the number of these unprotected trees is radically diminishing. Even if humans leave them in peace, age is creeping up on them. What can my marker tree in Toronto expect from the future?
