According to the Haida people of British Columbia, a long time ago, a village on the island failed to live in balance with the land. The people disrespected the natural world and the spirits that lived inside. As punishment, a fierce, supernatural winter storm tore through the village. Only a young boy and his grandfather survived.
As they fled the village, the grandfather told the boy: “Don’t look back. No matter what you hear, look only forward.”
As they climbed into the hills, the boy heard the cries of his home and felt the power of the storm. Overcome by grief and curiosity, he turned his head to look back. Suddenly, his feet took root in the earth. His skin turned to bark, and his hair transformed into glowing golden needles. He turned into a golden tree.
His grandfather told the boy that he would stand there for generations as a reminder. He would be a warning of what happens when humans disrespect nature.
The Haida called it Kiid K’iiyas, which means “Ancient Tree.” To the rest of the world, it became known as the Golden Spruce.
Standard Sitka spruce trees have dark green needles that have evolved to absorb the limited sunlight of the Pacific Northwest. But Kiid K’iiyas was different. Because of a rare genetic mutation, its needles lacked chlorophyll. So instead of having green needles, it had golden yellow ones.
When the sun shone on the tree, it looked like it was glowing. A tree with this mutation shouldn’t survive. But this one did. And it stood as a reminder for 300 years.
This wasn’t a tree to the Haida people. It was a relative.
Until a disturbed man cut into the base of the tree with a chainsaw, and the wind blew the tree to the ground.
The Haida people were overcome with grief and anger. The sacred tree had been spared while all the other trees around it had been cut down over the years. They had cared for this tree for centuries.
If you want to hear the full story about this deranged man and his mysterious disappearance, I plan on releasing a long video this weekend on Substack.
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