The Medicine Tree
The Medicine Tree, a towering ponderosa pine more than 300 years old and sacred to some Indian tribes, survived the Bitterroot Valley wildfires of 2000 only to succumb to a powerful burst of wind.
It broke off about 20 feet above its base sometime after 8 p.m. Tuesday, as winds up to 70 mph raked a narrow canyon south of Conner. Its trunk spilled across U.S. 93 and blocked traffic from both directions.
It had major historic significance to residents of the Bitterroot Valley and was considered sacred by members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
"The wind was blowing so hard out there," said nearby resident Mutt Warren, a former Ravalli County commissioner. "I'm just glad it didn't fall on a car and hurt somebody."
Crews moved the fallen tree to the side of the highway and a sign was erected marking it as private property of the Confederate Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
A group from the Salish/Pend Oreille Culture Committee arrived to take pictures but there was no indication what the tribes would do with the tree and the site surrounding it, which they recently purchased.
In an interview in August 2000, while fire crews dug a line around the tree and kept it wet in an effort to save it from wildfire, Tony Incashola, director of the culture committee, explained the tree's cultural importance.
"A lot of land formations in the Bitterroot are connected to the creation story," Incashola said. "A lot of them tell the story of us as Indians, as Native American people. They help us tell the story to our children. And this Medicine Tree is part of that."
In spring and fall, tribal groups visited the tree to honor the creator in much the same way Christians visit a church.
The Medicine Tree will be missed by many valley residents as well, said Helen Ann Bibler, Ravalli County Museum director and Bitter Root Valley Historical Society member.
"It's a tremendous loss for Ravalli County," Bibler said.
Travelers who visited the tree unloaded their emotional troubles at the site or left gifts at the tree after requesting the granting of such wishes as the healing of a loved one, a safe journey or the healthy birth of a new baby.
"They'd leave gifts there in hopes that the Great Spirit would smile on them,'' she said.
"Beyond the physical, it certainly offered a spiritual strength to anybody who paused to reflect, whether of native skin or native spirit," she said.
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