Tree in Tree 2004
Collaboration between Matthew Dehaemers and Karen McCoy
Osage Orange sapling, hundreds of native Missouri plantings, hollowed out Red Oak, tethering rope
Forest Park-St. Louis, Missouri

Created for the National Bicentennial Commemoration of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. This project was sponsored by the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial ArtsPlan, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts in collaboration with the Missouri Arts Council. The program was administered by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and the New England Foundation for the Arts. Tree in Tree honors the ancient Osage Indian presence in Mis¬souri. An Osage Orange sapling was planted within the hollow trunk of an old Red Oak tree. The massive 17’ tall Red Oak trunk and all its fallen branches were charred. One branch of the sap¬ling was drawn through a slot carved in the eastern side of the trunk and tethered parallel to the ground. The planting of the sapling symbolizes a “re-rooting” of the Osage in the earth of their ancestral homeland. Indians of North America often ma¬nipulated trees by bending branches, or trunks, as the trees were growing. These marker, or guide trees, usually pointed the way to water or sacred places. This tethered branch points eastward. The Osage consider that they are always traveling in an easterly direction on their life paths. This is a conceptual journey they take each day. The orientation towards the rising sun is also a metaphor for a new beginning. It is a gesture of support and hope for the revitalization of Osage culture and language, the growth of more positive relations within and between cultures, and the generation of more positive conditions for the environment we all share.