What Is An Indian Marker Tree, And How Were They Used? (Photos)

The following article was written by Steve Houser and published in the Neil Sperry e-Gardens news www.neilsperry.com

Historically, living in complete harmony with nature has been a way of life for the American Indian.  They relied on Nature for all their needs.  Many years ago, traveling from place to place required good navigational skills, directions along the way, and a method to mark common trails.  American Indians used trees to not only mark a trail, but also to signal the presence of important features, some of which were critical for survival.

Today, some call these old road signs Indian marker trees.  They are known by others as trail trees, thong trees, or culturally modified trees.  Years ago, Linda Pelon, one of the first anthropologists researching the subject, taught me the term of Indian marker tree.  I will stick with this name.

An Indian marker tree is a tree that was purposely bent over as a sapling and held in a bent position throughout most of its young life.  The trees were tied down using a thong of animal hide, which is where the name “thong tree” originated.  They were used to guide the American Indians to a source of water, a good place to cross a river, a campsite or other important natural features.  To those who could interpret their meaning, they were similar to a life-saving road sign.

Why are most folks not aware that Indian marker trees exist?  Many years ago, the American Indians were not fond of explaining all the details regarding their way of life to outsiders.  They always saw the need to live within the balance of nature and had a great reverence for all the glorious things that nature provided.  They were the ultimate stewards of our natural world, whereas the “white man” only saw endless opportunity.  “White man look—but not see.”