Okanogan Land Trust OkaKnowledgy presentation

OkaKnowledgy Presentation February 19, 2025, at the Okanogan PUD Auditorium at 6:30pm cohosted by Okanogan Land Trust and Okanogan County Historical Society

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Bad Apples: The Homestead and Botanical Colonialism in Western North America by Emily Hull

"Apples have a long history in the human imagination, from Golden Apples and apples of youth in European legend to figures of mythological stature such as Johnny Appleseed in North America. Originating in Eurasia, ancestral apple forests still dot the lines of the Silk Road in Kazakhstan and volunteer apples from cores cast out of train windows delineate now-deserted railway lines across the North American West. Abandoned homesteads may now be identified only by venerable apple trees, remnants of colonial human settlements. These apple trees symbolize not only the hopes of disenfranchised homesteaders, but also trace the lines of colonial incursions into western North America. This work aims to look at the living apples trees in all their complexity, as both a symbol of hopeful futures, and the sign of colonialism and land theft, as well as exploring how these plants can remain as accessible living histories to communities in the present."