The Spirit of K'iid K'iyaas

In April 2002 the "Forest Leadership Forum" was held in Atlanta, Georgia. This conference brought together more than 1,300 leaders from 45 countries to discuss important issues related to the goal of sustainable forest management, including the role of certification schemes in improving forest management. Participants included representatives from environmental groups, retailers, and the forest products industry. This forum was jointly sponsored by Metafore and the World Wildlife Fund.

During this conference a special ceremony took place on the evening of Friday April 26th to present an original commissioned painting entitled "The Spirit of K'iid K'iyaas" to the Haida First Nation. Generously donated by Canadian wildlife artist Donna Bisschop, this painting was offered as a gesture of Hope over the loss 5 years earlier of a tree considered sacred to the Haida people.

K'iid K'iyaas (also known as the Golden Spruce) was felled on January 22, 1997 by an unemployed logger named Thomas Grant Hadwin. Hadwin's actions served as little more than a deranged act of protest against the clear-cutting of forests in British Columbia.

The story of K'iid K'iyaas is explained in greater detail in my earlier post.