The birch tree represents Clara’s connection to her home and to the Indigenous culture that was stolen from her when she was taken from her family and placed in the residential school. Birch trees were an important resource for many Indigenous nations: their bark can be used to make canoes, paper, and even clothing. In addition, the leaves and bark both have medicinal uses. Clara’s transformational journey of redemption begins when the Old Indigenous Woman draws her attention to a birch tree situated outside a Vancouver jailhouse window. This tree in turn reminds Clara of the birch grove where, as a child, she heard the voices of spirits or angels. Her yearning to recapture that feeling leads her, through George and Vera, to Mariah’s cabin, where she finds a sense of home for the first time in many years.
Birch Tree Quotes in Five Little Indians
“That little birch tree. Even here they shine.”
Clara looked again. A little birch, no taller than Clara herself, stood alone in a small square of dirt carved out of the pavement for it. The rain had stopped and the clouds parted for the muted sunlight of dawn. Clara watched as the leaves of the little tree captured the light, shining silvery and soft. The old woman looked at her with eyes as black as night and placed her hand over Clara’s.
“The power of Creation is everywhere. In the tree, in you, in all of them.” She gestured to the others. “Never forget.” The old lady settled back into the variegated shadows of the cell, her deeply wrinkled hands folded. Clara gazed at the little birch, blocking out the restless sounds of the cell.