Cedar (Red)

There are many types of cedar trees, and all cedars are large coniferous evergreen trees. They prefer well drained soil and grow in full sun to partly shaded areas. However, when growing in full sun this plant tends to have a more open and ratty appearance compared to those plants that grown in shade. Arborvitae (North American/ Eastern Asian evergreen coniferous tree) have separate sexes on the same plant. The male flowers are yellow and drop off in the spring. Female flowers are greenish and they are the ones that produce cones.Pollination occurs in spring; seeds (small, with 2 lateral wings) are shed in the fall. The wood is soft, light, aromatic and decay-resistant. Cedar can grow during the winter months.

Some Indigenous communities use cedar as a medicine for healing and others use the larger red cedars for totem poles, canoes and lodges.

Red cedars can grow into giants, 60m tall whose trunks are over 3m wide.  But young cedars can be very vulnerable.  Most of its seeds have very little chance of survival.  To flourish, the red cedar bides its time.    Where other growth cannot, Red cedar is resistant to fungus and grows well in swamps and water edges.  Did you know that almost any part of the tree, like its branches, can take root?  It just needs to be resting on wet ground.  (Kimmerer, p. 287-288)

Cedar as a medicine is used for healing (e.g., brewed as tea, cedar bath, or smudging). Most often it is used in ceremony, as a smudge and to purify a space or person. When diluted and applied topically, eastern red cedar can sooth aches and pains that are caused by arthritis or rheumatism. As a poultice, cedar has been used traditionally to help control bleeding. Some communities also made cedar berry tea as a remedy for asthma. Cedar is often used as an antibiotic to treat various infections (especially when combined with other medicines). Hot cedar baths are used for treating dry skin.

Cedar is anti-fungal.  You can make a foot soak, which are very permeable, to absorb the medicine into your bloodstream to fight infections. (Campbell, E., Spokane Tribe, video 48:40).

Cedar is sometimes considered a part of the South direction (of the four Sacred Medicines). Some Indigenous communities believe that cedar is a guardian spirit and chases away the bad spirits. This makes the cedar a great medicine for sweats and for fasting. Others believe that the crackling it makes in the fire is how one gets the attention of the Spirits when someone is making an offering or prayer.

Trees were considered sentinent beings.  Cedar bark was uused in ceremonies as a source of nature's power (Hughes, p. 54). 

Cedar wood was also used to make boxes.  Without nails, saws, and hammers, a traditional Indigenous artisan could make Cedar boxes so tight that you could use them to store oil (Hughes, p. 54).