Louisiana Life Magazine and Our Plant Story Podcast Highlight the Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy

Eagle Lake, Union Parish

We are often getting newcomers to our LPCL Blog-- frequently from those wanting to know the age of large old cypress they've come across. Two recent published accounts of what we're up to will introduce new visitors to our efforts to landmark old growth cypress throughout Louisiana. The first is an episode from Sally Flatman's podcast "Our Plant Story"-- a recently deceased Louisiana bald cypress, bequeathed by Napolean in 1803 to a Loire Valley Chateau in France is a jumping off point for Sally's interview with myself and with Gael du Halgouet, proprieter of the Chateau des Grotteaux, where the cypress grew and thrived for over two hundred years. Sally's  program makes an illuminating connection between the history of this Louisiana cypress transplanted to France and the LPCL's landmarking of cypress throughout Louisiana that were "Alive in 1803". The podcast interview can be heard here:

Napoleon's Bald Cypress

We're also appreciative of David Jenkins cover story in the May-June issue of Louisiana Life: "Hiding in Plain Sight-- Documenting Louisiana's Surviving Old Growth Bald Cypress"  David's evocative photos of the endearing and enduring  centuries old cypress still thriving throughout Louisiana compliment his illuminating descriptions of his visits to several of LPCL's landmarked cypress:

Documenting Louisiana’s Surviving Old-growth Bald Cypress Trees - louisianalife.com

Always looking for new leads on old growth cypress throughout Louisiana, particularly in the Parishes I have yet to find cypress "Alive in 1803": Allen, Beauregard, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameron, Claiborne, E. Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Lincoln, Madison, Ouachita, , Red River, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Helena, Vermillion, Vernon, W Baton Rouge, West Carrol.

And we're always o the lookout for cypress that may be larger in circumference/older than ones we've already landmarked in the other parishes in which century old cypress have been identified. (See our Parish Inventory tab above on our blog home page)

Please contact:

Harvey Stern

LaPurchaseCypressLegacy@gmail.com

 

An Earth Day Tribute to the Chitimacha Tribe and the Baton Rouge Audubon Society

Chitimacha Tribe Honors Ancient Cypress Landmarked by La Purchase Cypress Legacy at Baton Rouge Audubon Society's Amite River Wildlife Sanctuary

This Earth Day is a fitting time to honor one of Louisiana's coastal indigenous tribes-- the Chitimacha-- who have lived in coastal Louisiana long before the arrival of European setters.  Although the current reservation is near Charenton it is likely that ancestral Chitimacha and other local tribes lived in the Amite River Basin-- where the Baton Rouge Audubon Society's Amite River Sanctuary is located (near Port Vincent).  The Amite River Basin has proven to be a treasure trove of old growth cypress -- the La Purchase Cypress Legacy has identified and landmarked with plaques several centuries  old cypress along tributaries of the Amite River.

 Many, if not most of the coastal old growth cypress in our La Purchase Cypress Legacy inventory inventory were alive and thriving in our near native settlements well before European colonization—including the Attakapas,  Houma, and Chitimacha tribes.  Robin Wall Kimmerer, a Native American forest ecologist deftly weaves together the spiritual reverence for her forest elders with their tangible value and ecological significance:

“Fluted trunks rise from a lawn of deep moss green, their canopies lost in the hanging mist that suffuse the forest with hazy twilight.  Light streams through holes over the heads of young trees while their grandmothers loom in shadows, great buttressed trunks 8 feet in diameter.  You want to be quiet in instinctive deference to the cathedral hush and because nothing you could possibly say would add a thing.”

“The old growth forest is as stunning in its elegance of function as it its beauty.  Under conditions of scarcity, there can be no frenzy of uncontrolled growth.  The green architecture of the forest structures itself is a model of efficiency, with layers of foliage in multi-layered canopy that optimize capture of solar energy.  If we are looking for models of self-sustaining communities, we need look no further than an old growth forest, or the old growth cultures they raised in symbiosis with them.” (Kimmerer “Braided Grass”)

The Native American belief that the old trees of the forest are sentient, spiritual beings  to be respected and honored is  illustrated by Susan Symard in her book, “Finding the Mother Tree” in a caption beneath a photo of a 1000 year old fir tree (and this could also apply to the Louisiana indigenous tribes interaction with  virgin cypress prevalent in precolonial Southern Louisiana:)

“The vertical crevices [in the giant fir tree] suggest the bark has been stripped by First Nations people. The inner bark is separated from the outer bark and used for making cedar baskets and mats, clothing and rope. Before the harvest the people place their hands on the trunk to pray and ask permission for the harvest, and in so doing they develop strong connections with the tree. Strips up to one third of the circumference and thirty feet long are harvested, leaving a shallow scar narrow enough to heal over.”

 Thanks to the initiative of Jane Patterson, chair of the Baton Rouge, one of the landmarked LPCL cypress has been honored with the Chitamachee name for Strong Spirit, the English name Ms Patterson chose for the tree we determined to be several hundred years old.  That this tree is now protected in an Audubon Society Wildlife Sanctuary that is accessible to all is resonant with Kimmerer description of the traditional indigenous world view that 

 “,,, earth exits not as private property but as a commons to be tended with

reciprocity and respect for the benefit of all. This is the vision of the economy—the “commons”  wherein resources fundamental to our well being like water and land and forests are commonly held rather than commodified” (Robin Wall Kemmerer, “Braiding Sweetgrass”)

Below is the article that Jane Patterson wrote describing her successful quest to honor this LPCL landmarked cypress forest elder with a Chitimatcha name befitting the veneration it inspires:

 

Naming of the Trees

Naming the Legacy Trees by Jane Patterson 

 

 

As the BR Audubon Amite River Wildlife Sanctuary property was explored, it was discovered that there are ancient trees on the property. There is a bald cypress tree that was dated by the Louisiana Purchase Legacy Cypress project to be between 400 and 600 years old, dating to as far back as the early 1400's. The legacy live oak, in the heart of the sanctuary, judging by its size, would likely be between 350 and 400 years old, dating back to the early 1600's. Both pre-date the European settlers to the area, which made us wonder which indigenous peoples might have lived here prior to European colonization. After researching, there were a couple of possibilities, but the Chitimacha tribe inhabited basically what is now called the Atchafalaya river basin. This is one of the 4 sovereign tribes of Louisiana, recognized by the federal government, and the only one still living on their ancestral lands, though their reservation is significantly south of Ascension parish in Charenton LA. I contacted the Chitimacha museum to ask about translating a couple of words to use as names for our legacy trees so that I could tie in this cultural significance to our sanctuary site. When I asked for these translations, I didn't imagine it was a big deal as I was just asking for translations for what I supposed were fairly common words. First, formal permission had to be requested and granted by the tribal council, which was done. But I still didn't get an answer right away. As circumstances would have it, I ended up not far from the museum in Charenton several weeks after I'd made the request, so I decided to stop by and ask about it. Theresa, who greeted me, asked if I'd like the museum tour. She said the tour started with a film. As the film began, I realized that the simple request to translate a few words from English to the Chitimacha language was far from simple. The film was all about the fact that their language had been, in fact, extinct. The last speakers died in 1940. However, a linguist from the Smithsonian Institute had come to their village in the 1930's and recorded over 200 hours of language from that last two native speakers. The recordings were on wax spools and were very scratchy and often garbled, but at least it was something. Over a decade ago, the tribe began the effort to reclaim their language. They worked with Rosetta Stone to create a language learning series that is now used in schools and for their adult tribe members. They start teaching Chitimacha as young as nursery school and throughout all grades in their school. They are trying to reclaim and preserve their heritage through their language. After the tour, it was explained to me that they were having trouble with the translations of one of the words I'd asked for and that's why the response to the request was taking so long. She said they were working on it and hoped to have an answer soon. Shortly after this visit, I received that answer. For the legacy cypress tree, I'd asked for the translation for "strong spirit". In Chitimacha, that is Yaagi Niksta (pronounced Yah-Gee Neek-Stah [hard "G"]. This tree has indeed had a strong spirit to have lived for as many as 600 years. For the legacy live oak tree, I'd asked for the translation of "heart" because this tree is in the heart of our sanctuary, the branches look like a heart and it also has had a lot of heart to survive in the middle of the swamp where a live oak really doesn't even belong. The translation is Puxna ( pronounced Poosh-Nah), our Heart Oak.

Many thanks to the Chitimacha Indian tribe for their approval of my request and assistance with these translations!

Due to overwhelming support I was able to get plaques for each of these trees that properly honors them. Thank you again to everyone who donated!

 

 So, please, when you visit the sanctuary, visit each of these trees and say "huya" (thank you) to our ancient trees!

 

Directions to the Amite River Wildlife Sanctuary near Port Vincent and visiting information can be found here:
http://www.braudubon.org/conservation/sanctuaries

Here is specific information on Yaagi Niksta
Coordinates for the tree are: 30°19'37.9"N
                                              90°51'1.86"W

Click here for the map.



 Circumference: 9’7”  Radius: 18”
1st  Boring—2.75”  Rings counted: approx. 98

            2.75” boring length /  18” radius =  98 rings counted / X
            X = approx. 644 projected years



2nd Boring—3”        Rings counted: approx 84
            3” / 18’ = 84 / X
            X = approx. 504 projected years



To account for likely faster growth early in its life (i.e. the hollow center of the tree), I’d conservatively estimate this cypress at a minimum of 400 years old. Needless to say, the rings are very closely spaced on both borings—indicating very slow growth. There is a section on one boring where the rings appear to be barely a hair’s width apart, which would reflect  the very old age for a relatively small circumference old growth cypress.