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Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
Capitol Christmas Tree
2 of 2
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
Capitol Christmas Tree
An 88-foot-tall harbinger of Christmas will stop by Duluth today on its way to Washington, D.C.
The towering white spruce that will become the Christmas Tree for the entire nation was harvested last week in the Chippewa National Forest on the lands of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. It’s currently on a cross-country trip with 30 scheduled stops all along the way until it reaches the nation’s capital for a December 2 lighting.
The tree will be at Bayfront Festival Park from 5:30-7:30 p.m. today before moving south to the Twin Cities area. There will be activities, including a drum ceremony. You can track the tree’s progress and stories about the tree at www.capitolchristmastree.com.
To start its journey, the National Forest Service, Choose Outdoors and Leech Lake Ojibwe, partnered in the undertaking, gathered water from the headwaters of the Mississippi River.
“The tree still draws water, the needles are still photo synthesizing,” says Mike Theune of the Forest Service, who is traveling with the tree. “It uses 45 gallons of water a day.”
The water from the Mississippi was both necessary and symbolic. “The Chippewa National Forest is the only national forest to have land on both sides of the Mississippi,” explains Ryan. At the headwaters, of course, is the most narrow point along the mighty river.
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
Capitol Christmas Tree
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Council Member Steve White, District II; Darla Lenz, supervisor of the Chippewa National Forest; Tribal Chair Carri Jones; Tribal Council Member LeRoy Staples Fairbanks III, who traveled with the first tree in 1992.
The official cutting of the tree was on October 29, an afternoon filled with ceremonies and honoring. Among the speakers were Chippewa National Forest Supervisor Darla Lenz, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Representative Rick Nolan and Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Chairwoman Carri Jones. Ojibwe spiritual advisor Larry Aitken did a traditional blessing ceremony.
The Minnesota Logger of the Year, Jim Scheff, cut the tree, which was lowered into cribbing on a specially designed flatbed truck. The cribbing keeps the branches from being crushed in transport on the more than 100-foot-long truck and trailer.
The Leech Lake Ojibwe are working to raise funds so that several busloads of local youth and elders can attend the lighting ceremonies in Washington. Employees of the band have donated $5 to $50 per paycheck to the cause while local businesses have donated rifles, cars and snowmobiles to auction. There is also a funding pitch on indiegogo.com.
Children from the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School and their parents have made ornaments to send and 36, mainly young people from the upper classes, hope to attend the lighting. There will be members of a drum and also some dancers from the school.
This is the second time a tree has been chosen from the forest. The first time was in 1992. Tribal Council Member Penny Devault was 16 that year and went for the first time to Washington, D.C., along with the tree. She plans to drive there this year with her children, ages 9, 11, 12 and 15.
“I was high school with the Deer River High School and was one of the kids selected. … It was just a really good trip.”
This year’s delegation from Leech Lake will leave November 30 on a 24-hour bus ride to arrive for ceremonies, a tour of the mall and monuments in Washington as well as being part of a dance exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.
The Lake Superior region has been tapped 11 times for the national Christmas Tree with the most recent before this one in 2001, a white spruce from Ottawa National Forest.