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ERCA said the damaged tree — still being assessed as to whether it can remain — is well-known in the community for its unique shape and was popular among visitors to the conservation area who would pose for photos while sitting on its bent trunk.

To create these living signals, Indigenous people would bend the stems of young saplings, tying them to a nearby rock or tree. Eventually, once the tree settled into a bent shape, it would be untied — with the bend pointing in the desired direction. Other than the vertical branch pointing up towards the sky, all other branches would be trimmed away.

“I’m hoping that maybe we can protect the other trees that are in the area, maybe with some signage or some discussion can happen around signal trees in the future,” said Duckworth.

Photo by Dax Melmer / jpg

Lakeshore Mayor Tom Bain said physical barriers might be the only way to prevent further acts of vandalism on other significant plants in the conservation area.

“It’s certainly sad to think that you’d have to put a barrier around a tree,” Bain said. “So many people enjoy going to a tree, such as the Indigenous signal tree, and having their pictures beside it.”

The conservation authority’s forester must still assess the extent of damage to the tree to decide whether its stump can remain. But if it presents a hazard to the public, ERCA said it will likely have to be removed from the area.

Though upset about the destruction, Duckworth said she is hopeful the vandalism might open up a conversation about an important symbol of her culture.

“I look at it as a teachable moment for the greater community on the signal tree, to know that those trees existed and to tell the story behind them,” she said.

Photo by Dax Melmer / Windsor Star

This incident, she added, provides another opportunity to talk about reconciliation.

“How do we reconcile with Canada when yet something else has happened to one of our Indigenous markers or plants?”

jlagrassa@postmedia.com