The Spirit Little Cedar (Witch Tree)
Grand Portage, Minnesota, United States
A centuries-old cedar on a Lake Superior ledge held sacred by the Grand Portage Ojibwe, where travelers left tobacco offerings before crossing the lake; access is controlled by the band.
On a rock shelf above Lake Superior near Grand Portage grows a single gnarled cedar, centuries old, that the Ojibwe know as Spirit Little Cedar. Tradition holds that travelers on the great lake left tobacco offerings at the tree before setting out on the crossing, asking the spirit of the place for safe passage; the tree watched, in the community's understanding, over every canoe that passed.
Grand Portage Band control of the site is explicit: the trail to it crosses tribally managed land and access is closed or limited by the band, which has had to protect the tree from over-visitation. We record the site because its story is central to the region's living tradition, and we honor the stewardship by keeping the coordinates withheld and pointing visitors to the band's own guidance rather than the tree.
Visiting
Access is by the Grand Portage Band's terms and is generally closed to casual visitation; see grandportage.com before considering any visit.
Photo: [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Witch_Tree-_Little_Spirit_Tree_-_panoramio.jpg), CC BY-SA.
Associated traditions & practices
Visitor stories