Indigenous Societies
The Nootka Cypress is used extensively by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, along with another cypress, Thuja plicata (Western Red Cedar). While Western Red Cedar was preferred for larger projects (houses, canoes), Nootka Cypress, was used for smaller carvings such as vessels and utensils.
A legend amongst the Nootka peoples of the Hesquiaht First Nation tells of the origins of the Nootka Cypress. In the legend, a raven encounters three young women drying salmon on the beach. He asks the women if they are afraid of being alone, if they are afraid of bears, wolves, and other animals. Each women responded "no". But when asked about owls, the women were indeed afraid of owls. Hearing this, the trickster raven hid in the forests, and made the calls of an owl. The terrified women ran up the mountains, but turned into Nootka Cypress trees when they were out of breath. According to the Nootka, this is why Nootka Cypress grows on the sides of mountains, and also why the bark is silky like a woman's hair, the young trunk is smooth like a woman's body.
In Tlingit culture the story of Natsilane describes how a Nootka Cypress was used to carve the world's first killer whale.
Read more about this topic: Cupressus Nootkatensis
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