You’ve probably heard the term “tree hugger” used to describe your “crunchy hippie” family member or as a dig at environmental activists. What you probably aren’t aware of though is the true stories of brave grassroots activism that are responsible for the existence of the phrase.
In 1730, one woman named Amrita Devi, a member of the Bishnoi branch of Hinduism, decided to take personal action against the Maharaja’s order to cut down trees in her village of Khejarli, India.
Devi, joined by many other concerned community members, clung to and “hugged” the trees to prevent them from being logged. In objection to the protest, Devi, her three daughters and more than 350 other villagers were killed.
Horrified by the multitude of the deaths and self-sacrifice, the Maharaja decided to ban logging in all Bishnoi villages. Devi and the other victims’ incredible bravery and willpower has led to this event being remembered in history as an early movement of environmentalism that inspired many to follow.
In the 1970s a similar movement rose to popularity in India. The movement is known as the Chipko Movement, with “Chipko” meaning “to cling” or “to hug” in Hindi. During this time, commercial logging and deforestation was spreading across India, having large impacts on wildlife and the landscapes that many people called home. One of these places was the village of Mandal in India.
Out of frustration and in a call for action, many community leaders and members, primarily women, began peacefully protesting the logging by hugging the trees and preventing loggers from successfully cutting them down.
Once again, the protest resulted in the protection of a vast majority of trees and land that were previously in danger of destruction, and this time, no blood was shed to do so.
The major success of this movement led it to spread throughout almost the entirety of India, protecting land, trees, water, soil and even contributing to the enforcement of logging bans and pieces of conservation legislation like the Forest Conservation Act of 1980.
The lasting impacts of this once grassroots activism include not just the physical protection of land that it provided, but the long-term policies, movements and inspiration that are still driving the actions of environmentalists today.
The Chipko Movement serves as a profound early example of ecofeminism, narrowing the bridge between feminism and environmentalism. The unwavering conviction of these activists to make a physical stance on what is right shows that there is power in numbers and that participation can mean the difference between destruction and success.
So, how did “tree huggers” go from a term with a deep and honorable history to something used to patronize or insult environmentalists?
Historically, it is not uncommon for the meaning behind words and phrases to change or evolve. However, in this case, the stigma around tree huggers seems very intentionally constructed.
Framing passionate environmentalists, especially female ones, as overly emotional or irrational was a successful tactic for undermining the destruction being done to the environment by means of commercial logging, deforestation and industrialization.
This benefited big corporations as they faced less pushback against their developments. People became less eager to speak up or fight the destruction, fearing being viewed as dramatic or irrational tree huggers.
Such a shift was very easy to achieve, as the majority of our society is not properly informed on or aware of events like the Khejarli Massacre or movements like the Chipko Movement. This makes education on these pieces of history very important, as we shift narratives to view care for the environment as passion and courage, rather than obnoxious and irrational action.
By shifting the narrative, we can encourage more people to feel safe and confident enough to speak up and generate positive change for the planet. Knowing the stories of the grassroots environmentalism that are still carrying us today, can inspire us to be those individuals for the generations to come … generations full of stubborn and strong-willed “tree huggers.”