Wawyeyawen = Circle

Wawyeyawen is a word that means “circle” in the Potawatomi language, the nation whose unceded territory Detroit is built on. Wawyeto means “circle we make.” 

We had a fantastic 50th Earth Day! So many beautiful people came out to plant so many beautiful trees. Because the treescape we created is so large we were all able to collaborate while keeping our personal distance. Most of us were so eager to just be outside doing something, and seeing people that the cold temperature didn’t matter. We had to expand the design to allow for 10 more tree planters to participate. We completed the circle with the Beeches, Sycamores, Dawn Redwoods, and Red Maples, then expanded to include three Siver Lindens on each side, a corner planting of a River Birch and two Cedars, and two Arbor Vitae. Before we left birds were stopping in the trees to check it out. Where there was once only mowed grass there is a small organized grove calling, “land here, land here!” This is perfect too because this treescape connects the Aqrboretum to Callahan Playfield, which is now a bird park created with the energies of the Detroit Audubon Society.

This planting is not formally part of the Arboretum, but is adjacent to Treetroit 1. This planting came about when the owner of these three lots mentioned his intention to return them to the Potawatomi. I thought this could really give us something to think about on this monumental Earth Day, right? What state would the Earth be in if there were no European colonization of this land? The next thought was can we return them better than we found them? I don’t mean better than they were originally, but better than they are now and have been for decades. So, we offer this land with a giant ring of trees that will be a habitat and a place of reflection. We do not yet know what giving these lots back looks like in a bureaucratic and legal sense, but we do know that we have made our offering and created a thing of beauty, a symbol of life and love for Mother Earth. I can already imagine what this space will look like on the 100th Earth Day.

We designed a treescape that we hope will help passersby for generations consider trees a little more than if the trees were in simple rows or clusters. One sees the circle and feels invited to step into the empty space created. We are very excited to watch the various forms grow together. For this scape we created a 70 foot diameter circle of equally spaced trees. We chose 70 because this was the year that the first Earth Day was globally celebrated. This also made the quarters 50 feet between the anchor trees. Of course, this was the 50th Earth Day.

For more information on Unceded Territories and their acknowledgment, see https://native-land.ca/territory-acknowledgement/

“If we think of territorial acknowledgments as sites of potential disruption, they can be transformative acts that to some extent undo Indigenous erasure. I believe this is true as long as these acknowledgments discomfit both those speaking and hearing the words. The fact of Indigenous presence should force non-Indigenous peoples to confront their own place on these lands.” – Chelsea Vowel, Métis, Beyond Territorial Acknowledgements

———— Photographs by Garrett MacLean (standing on top of Bat Mountain) ———