The Indian Marker Trees of Texas

 by Tom Goodman

Have you ever come across a tree that runs parallel to the ground and then bends at a right angle to rise skyward?

It could be an Indian “marker tree.”

Researchers claim that Native Americans modified certain trees for navigation. They would find a flexible sapling and tie it down. As the trunk grew, it would point in the direction of significant sites. 

Low-water crossings. 

Fresh springs. 

Sacred grounds. 

Some dismiss the claim entirely, since natural processes can bend a tree in this way. But advocates have been researching certain trees since the late 1800s.

A tree must meet certain standards to be considered a marker tree.

First, it must be at least 150 years old to have existed at the time Indians lived and hunted in the area. Evidence of their presence, such as arrowheads, increases the validity of a claim. Also, the tree has to point in the direction of something significant, like a water feature or a burial site. 

In my state, the Texas Historic Tree Coalition validates the claims of marker trees. At last count, they’ve received over two hundred requests to investigate a tree. Half of the claims have been ruled out. So far, nine Texas trees have been officially identified as marker trees.

The novel I’m writing now is set in East Texas in the early 1900s. One of the characters discovers an old marker tree. 

Did the Caddo of East Texas use marker trees? They were an agricultural people who tended to stay in one place, so it’s unlikely they needed much guidance for travel. So far, all the trees validated by the Texas Historic Tree Coalition are Comanche marker trees north and west of the county where my story takes place. 

Still, since tribes throughout North America practiced this, it’s likely the Caddo shaped trees for their purposes, too.

Click here and here to find out more about the Texas Historic Tree Coalition. If you live in another state, you’re sure to find a historical society that has information on Indian marker trees in your area. The Mountain Stewards website might get you started.

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