Name change reflects recognition of Native stewardship

"The tree was despised by the white settlers. Their thinking apparently ran something like this: the Digger Indian, a contemptuous name by which the pioneers inaccurately lumped all California tribes together, used the tree as food. What is good for an Indian is beneath notice for a white man. Ergo, the tree merited about the same respect as the Indians, who were dispossessed, when not enslaved, beaten, or killed."

--Donald Culross Peattie, referring to Pinus sabiniana in his book, A Natural History of Western Trees, 1953.

It's not a movement or an official act, but slowly and surely a new awareness is spreading, resulting in the name change of one of our favorite pines.

Pinus sabiniana, until recently known as digger pine, was named after the "Digger" Indians. "Digger" was a derogatory term given to California Native peoples by European settlers, referring to the fact that they dug for roots, an important source of food, basketry materials, and other uses.

Now there is general recognition that this early perception of Native Californian cultures was unfair, undeserved, and wrong. These were very intricate, sophisticated societies with a vast knowledge of their environment.

The veritable "Garden of Eden" that Europeans found in California was not an accident of geography but a highly managed ecosystem. Although considered pre-agricultural, the native peoples used sophisticated ecological techniques to enhance the environment, select for desired species, and maintain biological diversity. In fact, ecosytem diversity and health has deteriorated alarmingly since that time.

The most important environmental tool was fire. The Native Californians were masters of low-intensity burns. These burns had many benefits. They reduced the fuel load thus reducing the risk of intense fires that would damage important food species like oaks. Fire kept selected areas in an early state of succession, increasing foliage to attract and feed game. Pest species, especially insects, were kept in check. Certain plant species thrived under a fire regime. Fires produced a mosaic environment which provided more edges, or ecotones, favoring many types of wildlife.

The native peoples thrived in this environment of their own making, evolving rich, complex cultures with beautiful basketry and elaborate rituals. They were expert botanists, pharmacologists, physicists, and biologists. While there are many people working to save some of this vast knowledge, much is lost forever.

With this new understanding of native cultures, many people are rejecting language that perpetuates old ignorance. Pinus sabiniana obviously needs a new common name-but what?

Since this is a grassroots name change, there is no agreed upon replacement. Some people think the Latin name, Pinus sabiniana, is good enough since it is beautiful and easy to say. The closest to an official recommendation comes from the prestigious botanical reference The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California, which endorsed both gray pine and foothill pine as alternatives because "the common name digger pine is pejorative in origin, so best avoided."

Source: Flutes of Fire by Leanne Hinton, Heyday Books, Berkeley CA 1994. p. 165.