9-Foot Diameter Douglas-fir (Anders B. Wilse)

    In the northwest, where the tree grows most predominantly, there were many different Native American tribes that used the Douglas-fir. Although there was certainly some overlap, each tribe seemed to primarily use different parts of the trees. The Coast Salish used them for fuel and burned its green boughs “to cleanse human minds and hearts”. The Isleta Puebloans made tea from the needles to cure rheumatism. The Shasta used the resin to put on cuts, while the White Mountain Apache applied it to vessels, making them watertight. The bark was taken by the Sinkyone for tea to cure certain stomach ailments. Branches were used in the southwest in adobe building for various Pueblo tribes. Overall, the Native uses were more for medicinal and practical purposes than for religious or sacred ones.
    The Douglas-fir has always, since European arrival in the Americas, been huge in the lumber industry, especially in the northwest, where the trees grow tall and straight. When ships were the principal way to travel, the trunks made fantastic masts, better then the pines that had been used in the past. Now, the trees are used more in construction, their pulp can also be turned into paper. The Douglas-fir continues to make good firewood as well. One of the most popular uses for young trees is for Christmas trees; their shape and smell elevate them over other trees in this category.