HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Totem poles () are monumental carvings found in
western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...
and the
northwestern United States The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming ...
. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually made from large trees, mostly western red cedar, by
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
and
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast The Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities. They share certain beliefs, traditions and prac ...
including northern Northwest Coast Haida, Tlingit, and
Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; ) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace, British Columbia, Terrace and ...
communities in Southeast
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
and
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, Kwakwaka'wakw and
Nuu-chah-nulth The Nuu-chah-nulth ( ; ), also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifteen related tri ...
communities in southern British Columbia, and the
Coast Salish The Coast Salish peoples are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak on ...
communities in Washington and British Columbia. The word ''totem'' derives from the Algonquian word '' odoodem'' [] meaning "(his) kinship group". The carvings may symbolize or commemorate ancestors, cultural beliefs that recount familiar legends, clan lineages, or notable events. The poles may also serve as functional architectural features, welcome signs for village visitors, mortuary vessels for the remains of deceased ancestors, or as a means to publicly ridicule someone. They may embody a historical narrative of significance to the people carving and installing the pole. Given the complexity and symbolic meanings of these various carvings, their placement and importance lies in the observer's knowledge and connection to the meanings of the figures and the culture in which they are embedded. Contrary to common misconception, they are not worshipped or the subject of spiritual practice.


History

Totem poles serve as important illustrations of family lineage and the cultural heritage of the Indigenous peoples in the islands and coastal areas of North America's Pacific Northwest, especially British Columbia, Canada, and coastal areas of Washington and southeastern Alaska in the United States. Families of traditional carvers come from the Haida, Tlingit,
Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; ) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace, British Columbia, Terrace and ...
, Kwakwaka’wakw (Kwakiutl),
Nuxalk The Nuxalk people (Nuxalk language, Nuxalk: ''Nuxalkmc''; pronounced )'','' also referred to as the Bella Coola, Bellacoola or Bilchula, are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous First Nations in Canada, First Nation ...
(Bella Coola), and
Nuu-chah-nulth The Nuu-chah-nulth ( ; ), also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifteen related tri ...
(Nootka), among others. The poles are typically carved from the highly rot-resistant trunks of ''
Thuja plicata ''Thuja plicata'' is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the family Cupressaceae, native to the Pacific Northwest of North America. Its common name is western redcedar in the U.S. or western red cedar in the UK, and it is also called pacific re ...
'' trees (popularly known as giant cedar or western red cedar), which eventually decay in the moist, rainy climate of the coastal Pacific Northwest. Because of the region's climate and the nature of the materials used to make the poles, few examples carved before 1900 remain. Noteworthy examples, some dating as far back as 1880, include those at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, the Museum of Anthropology at UBC in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, the
Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...
in
Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...
, and the Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan, Alaska. Totem poles are the largest, but not the only, objects that coastal Pacific Northwest natives use to depict spiritual reverence, family legends, sacred beings and culturally important animals, people, or historical events. The freestanding poles seen by the region's first European explorers were likely preceded by a long history of decorative carving. Stylistic features of these poles were borrowed from earlier, smaller prototypes, or from the interior support posts of house beams. Although 18th-century accounts of European explorers traveling along the coast indicate that decorated interior and exterior house posts existed prior to 1800, the posts were smaller and fewer in number than in subsequent decades. Prior to the 19th century, the lack of efficient carving tools, along with sufficient wealth and leisure time to devote to the craft, delayed the development of elaborately carved, freestanding poles.Barbeau, "Totem Poles: According to Crests and Topics", p. 5. Before iron and steel arrived in the area, artists used tools made of stone, shells, or beaver teeth for carving. The process was slow and laborious; axes were unknown. By the late eighteenth century, the use of metal cutting tools enabled more complex carvings and increased production of totem poles.Garfield and Forrest, pp. 1–2. The tall monumental poles appearing in front of homes in coastal villages probably did not appear until after the beginning of the nineteenth century. Eddie Malin has proposed that totem poles progressed from house posts, funerary containers, and memorial markers into symbols of
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
and family wealth and prestige. He argues that the Haida people of the islands of
Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the British Columbia Coast, northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia ...
originated carving of the poles, and that the practice spread outward to the
Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; ) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace, British Columbia, Terrace and ...
and Tlingit, and then down the coast to the Indigenous people of British Columbia and northern Washington. Malin's theory is supported by the photographic documentation of the Pacific Northwest coast's cultural history and the more sophisticated designs of the Haida poles. Accounts from the 1700s describe and illustrate carved poles and timber homes along the coast of the Pacific Northwest. By the early nineteenth century, widespread importation of iron and steel tools from Great Britain, the United States, and elsewhere led to easier and more rapid production of carved wooden goods, including poles. In the 19th century, American and European trade and settlement initially led to the growth of totem-pole carving, but United States and Canadian policies and practices of acculturation and assimilation caused a decline in the development of
Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...
and
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
cultures and their crafts, and sharply reduced totem-pole production by the end of the century. Between 1830 and 1880, the maritime fur trade, mining, and fisheries gave rise to an accumulation of wealth among the coastal peoples. Much of it was spent and distributed in lavish
potlatch A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States,Harkin, Michael E., 2001, Potlatch in Anthropology, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Scienc ...
celebrations, frequently associated with the construction and erection of totem poles. The monumental poles commissioned by wealthy family leaders to represent their social status and the importance of their families and clans. In the 1880s and 1890s, tourists, collectors, scientists and naturalist interested in Indigenous culture collected and photographed totem poles and other artifacts, many of which were put on display at expositions such as the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the 1893 World's Columbia Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.Kramer, ''Alaska's Totem Poles'', p. 25. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, before the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978, the practice of Indigenous religion was outlawed, and traditional Indigenous cultural practices were also strongly discouraged by Christian
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
. This included the carving of totem poles. Missionaries urged converts to cease production and destroy existing poles. Nearly all totem-pole-making had ceased by 1901. Carving of monumental and mortuary poles continued in some, more remote villages as late as 1905; however, as the original sites were abandoned, the poles and timber homes were left to decay and vandalism.Garfield and Forrest, p. 8. Beginning in the late 1930s, a combination of cultural,
linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
, and artistic revivals, along with scholarly interest and the continuing fascination and support of an educated and empathetic public, led to a renewal and extension of this artistic tradition. In 1938 the United States Forest Service began a program to reconstruct and preserve the old poles, salvaging about 200, roughly one-third of those known to be standing at the end of the 19th century. With renewed interest in Indigenous arts and traditions in the 1960s and 1970s, freshly carved totem poles were erected up and down the coast, while related artistic production was introduced in many new and traditional media, ranging from tourist trinkets to masterful works in wood, stone, blown and etched glass, and other traditional and non-traditional media. In June 2022 during the biennial Celebration festival in Juneau, Alaska, the Sealaska Heritage Institute unveiled the first 360-degree totem pole in Alaska: the ''Sealaska Cultural Values Totem Pole''. The structure, carved out of a 600-year-old cedar tree, "represents all three tribes of Southeast Alaska — Lingít, Haida and
Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; ) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace, British Columbia, Terrace and ...
."


Meaning and purpose

Totem poles can symbolize characters and events in mythology, or convey the experiences of recent ancestors and living people. Some of these characters may appear as stylistic representations of objects in nature, while others are more realistically carved. Pole carvings may include animals, fish, plants, insects, and humans, or they may represent supernatural beings such as the Thunderbird. Some symbolize beings that can transform themselves into another form, appearing as combinations of animals or part-animal/part-human forms. Consistent use of a specific character over time, with some slight variations in carving style, helped develop similarities among these shared symbols that allowed people to recognize one from another. For example, the raven is symbolized by a long, straight beak, while the eagle's beak is curved, and a beaver is depicted with two large front teeth, a piece of wood held in his front paws, and a paddle-shaped tail.Feldman, p. 6. The meanings of the designs on totem poles are as varied as the cultures that make them. Some poles celebrate cultural beliefs that may recount familiar legends, clan lineages, or notable events, while others are mostly artistic. Animals and other characters carved on the pole are typically used as symbols to represent characters or events in a story; however, some may reference the moiety of the pole's owner, or simply fill up empty space on the pole.Feldman, pp. 1, 5. Depictions of thrusting tongues and linked tongues may symbolize socio-political power. The carved figures interlock one above the other to create the overall design, which may rise to a height of or more. Smaller carvings may be positioned in vacant spaces, or they may be tucked inside the ears or hang out of the mouths of the pole's larger figures.
Some of the figures on the poles constitute symbolic reminders of quarrels, murders, debts, and other unpleasant occurrences about which the Native Americans prefer to remain silent... The most widely known tales, like those of the exploits of Raven and of Kats who married the bear woman, are familiar to almost every native of the area. Carvings which symbolize these tales are sufficiently conventionalized to be readily recognizable even by persons whose lineage did not recount them as their own legendary history.
People from cultures that do not carve totem poles often assume that the linear representation of the figures places the most importance on the highest figure, an idea that became pervasive in the dominant culture after it entered into mainstream parlance by the 1930s with the phrase "low man on the totem pole" (and as the title of a bestselling 1941 humor book by
H. Allen Smith Harry Allen Wolfgang Smith
''Time (magazine), Time''. Nove ...
). However, Native sources either reject the linear component altogether, or reverse the hierarchy, with the most important representations on the bottom, bearing the weight of all the other figures, or at eye-level with the viewer to heighten their significance. Many poles have no vertical arrangement at all, consisting of a lone figure atop an undecorated column.


Types

There are six basic types of upright, pole carvings that are commonly referred to as "totem poles"; not all involve the carving of what may be considered "totem" figures: house frontal poles, interior house posts, mortuary poles, memorial poles, welcome poles, and the ridicule or shame pole.


House frontal poles

This type of pole, usually tallNewman, p. 16. is the most decorative. Its carvings tell the story of the family, clan or village who own them. These poles are also known as heraldic, crest, or family poles. Poles of this type are placed outside the clan house of the most important village leaders. Often, watchman figures are carved at the top of the pole to protect the pole owner's family and the village. Another type of house frontal pole is the entrance or doorway pole, which is attached to the center front of the home and includes an oval-shaped opening through the base that serves as the entrance to the clan house.Feldman, p. 12.


House posts

These interior poles, typically in height, are usually shorter than exterior poles. The interior posts support the roof beam of a clan house and include a large notch at the top, where the beam can rest. A clan house may have two to four or more house posts, depending on the cultural group who built it. Carvings on these poles, like those of the house frontal poles, are often used as a storytelling device and help tell the story of the owners' family history.Newman, p. 19.Feldman, p. 13. House posts were carved by the
Coast Salish The Coast Salish peoples are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak on ...
and were more common than the free-standing totem poles seen in Northern cultural groups.


Mortuary pole

The rarest type of pole carving is a mortuary structure that incorporates grave boxes with carved supporting poles. It may include a recessed back to hold the grave box. These are among the tallest and most prominent poles, reaching in height. The Haida and Tlingit people erect mortuary poles at the death of important individuals in the community. These poles may have a single figure carved at the top, which may depict the clan's crest, but carvings usually cover its entire length. Ashes or the body of the deceased person are placed in the upper portion of the pole.


Memorial pole

This type of pole, which usually stands in front of a clan house, is erected about a year after a person has died. The clan chief's memorial pole may be raised at the center of the village. The pole's purpose is to honor the deceased person and identify the relative who is taking over as his successor within the clan and the community. Traditionally, the memorial pole has one carved figure at the top, but an additional figure may also be added at the bottom of the pole. Memorial poles may also commemorate an event. For example, several memorial totem poles were erected by the Tlingits in honor of Abraham Lincoln, one of which was relocated to Saxman, Alaska, in 1938. The Lincoln pole at Saxman commemorates the end of hostilities between two rival Tlingit clans and symbolizes the hope for peace and prosperity following the American occupation of the Alaskan territory. The story begins in 1868, when the United States government built a customs house and fort on Tongass Island and left the US revenue cutter ''Lincoln'' to patrol the area. After American soldiers at the fort and aboard the ''Lincoln'' provided protection to the Tongass group against its rival, the Kagwantans, the Tongass group commissioned the Lincoln pole to commemorate the event.


Welcome pole

Carved by the Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl), Salish and Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) people, most of the poles include large carvings of human figures, some as tall as . Welcome poles are placed at the edge of a stream or saltwater beach to welcome guests to the community, or possibly to intimidate strangers.


Shame/ridicule pole

Poles used for public ridicule are usually called shame poles, and were created to embarrass individuals or groups for their unpaid debts or when they did something wrong. The poles are often placed in prominent locations and removed after the debt is paid or the wrong is corrected. Shame pole carvings represent the person being shamed. One famous shame pole is the Seward Pole at the Saxman Totem Park in Saxman, Alaska. Originally carved in the , the pole shamed former U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward for his "lack of recognition of Indigenous peoples at an early point in Alaska’s U.S. history," as well as not reciprocating the generosity of his Tlingit hosts following an 1869
potlatch A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States,Harkin, Michael E., 2001, Potlatch in Anthropology, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Scienc ...
given in his honor. The figure's red-painted nose and ears may symbolize drunkenness or Seward's stinginess. In the 1940s, a second iteration of the pole was built by Tlingit men enrolled in the
Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...
; according to the Alaska Historical Society, the United States government was unaware that the pole's intent was to shame Seward until after the completion of the project. In 2014, this second pole began to fall apart; a renewed version was carved in 2017 by local Tlingit artist Stephen Jackson, who combined political caricature with Northwest Coast style. Another example of the shame pole is the Three Frogs pole on Chief Shakes Island, at
Wrangell, Alaska Wrangell (, ) is a List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska, borough in Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 2,127, down from 2,369 in 2010. Incorporated as a consolidated city–county ...
. This pole was erected by Chief Shakes to shame the Kiks.ádi
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
into repaying a debt incurred for the support of three Kiks.ádi women who were allegedly cohabiting with three slaves in Shakes's household. When the Kiks.ádi leaders refused to pay support for the women, Shakes commissioned a pole with carvings of three frogs, which represented the crest of the Kiks.ádi clan. It is not known if the debt was ever repaid. The pole stands next to the Chief Shakes Tribal House in Wrangell. The pole's unique crossbar shape has become popularly associated with the town of Wrangell, and continues to be used as part of the ''Wrangell Sentinel'' newspaper's masthead. In 1942, the U.S. Forest Service commissioned a pole to commemorate Alexander Baranof, the Russian governor and Russian American Company manager, as a civilian works project. The pole's original intent was to commemorate a peace treaty between the Russians and Tlingits that the governor helped broker in 1805. George Benson, a Sitka carver and craftsman, created the original design. The completed version originally stood in Totem Square in downtown
Sitka, Alaska Sitka (; ) is a municipal home rule, unified Consolidated city-county, city-borough in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was under Russian America, Russian rule from 1799 to 1867. The city is situated on the west side of Ba ...
. When Benson and other Sitka carvers were not available to do the work, the U.S. Forest Service had CCC workers carve the pole in Wrangell, Alaska. Because Sitka and Wrangell native groups were rivals, it has been argued that the Wrangell carvers may have altered Benson's original design.. For unknown reasons, the Wrangell carvers depicted the Baranov figure without clothes. Following a Sitka Tribe of Alaska-sponsored removal ceremony, the pole was lowered due to safety concerns on October 20, 2010, using funds from the Alaska Dept. of Health and Social Services. The ''Sitka Sentinel'' reported that while standing, it was "said to be the most photographed totem olein Alaska". The pole was re-erected in Totem Square in 2011. On March 24, 2007, a shame pole was erected in Cordova, Alaska, that includes the inverted and distorted face of former
Exxon Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the largest direct successor of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, the modern company was form ...
CEO Lee Raymond. The pole represents the unpaid debt of $5 billion in punitive damages that a federal court in
Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...
, determined Exxon owes for its role in causing the
Exxon Valdez oil spill The ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill was a major environmental disaster that occurred in Alaska's Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989. The spill occurred when ''Exxon Valdez'', an oil supertanker owned by Exxon Shipping Company, bound for Long Be ...
in Prince William Sound.


Totem poles outside of original context

Some poles from the Pacific Northwest have been moved to other locations for display out of their original context. In 1903 Alaska's district governor, John Green Brady, collected fifteen Tlingit and Haida totem poles for public displays from villages in southeastern Alaska. At the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (the world's fair held in
Saint Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
, in 1904), fourteen of them were initially installed outside the Alaska pavilion at the fair; the other one, which had broken in transit, was repaired and installed at the fair's Esquimau Village. Thirteen of these poles were returned to Alaska, where they were eventually installed in the Sitka National Historical Park. The other two poles were sold; one pole from the Alaska pavilion went to the
Milwaukee Public Museum The Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin (formerly known as Milwaukee Public Museum) is a natural and human history museum in the Westown neighborhood of Downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The museum was chartered in 1882 and opened to the public ...
and the pole from the Esquimau Village was sold and then given to industrialist David M. Parry, who installed it on his estate in what became known as the Golden Hill neighborhood of
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
, Indiana. Although the remains of the original pole at Golden Hill no longer exist, a replica was raised on April 13, 1996, on the front lawn of The
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is an art museum in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The Eiteljorg houses an extensive collection of visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas as well as Western Ame ...
in Indianapolis. Approximately two years later, the replica was moved inside the museum, and in 2005, it was installed in a new atrium after completion of a museum expansion project.


Indian New Deal

The Indian New Deal of the 1930s strongly promoted native arts and crafts in the United States, and in the totem pole they discovered an art that was widely appreciated by white society. In Alaska the Indian Division of the
Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...
restored old totem poles, copied those beyond repair, and carved new ones. The Indian Arts and Crafts Board, a U.S. federal government agency, facilitated their sale to the general public. The project was lucrative, but anthropologists complained that it stripped the natives of their traditional culture and stripped away the meaning of the totem poles. Another example occurred in 1938, when the U.S. Forest Service began a totem pole restoration program in Alaska. Poles were removed from their original places as funerary and crest poles to be copied or repaired and then placed in parks based on English and French garden designs to demystify their meaning for tourists. In England at the side of Virginia Water Lake, in the south of
Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of to the south of the town of Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, Windsor, Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park ...
, there is a Canadian totem pole that was given to
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
to commemorate the centenary of
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. In Seattle, Washington, a Tlingit funerary totem pole was raised in Pioneer Square in 1899, after being taken from an Alaskan village. In addition, the totem pole collections in Vancouver's
Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada, that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Vancouver, Downtown peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay, Vancouver, English Bay. The park bor ...
, Victoria's Thunderbird Park, and the Museum of Anthropology at the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...
were removed from their original locations around British Columbia. In Stanley Park, the original Skedans Mortuary Pole has been returned to Haida Gwaii and is now replaced by a replica. In the late 1980s, the remaining carved poles were sent to various museums for preservation, with the park board commissioning and loaning replacement carvings.


Construction and maintenance

After the tree to be used for the totem pole is selected, it is cut down and moved to the carving site, where the bark and outer layer of wood (sapwood) is removed. Next, the side of the tree to be carved is chosen and the back half of the tree is removed. The center of the log is hollowed out to make it lighter and to keep it from cracking.Feldman, pp. 21–22. Early tools used to carve totem poles were made of stone, shell, or bone, but beginning in the late 1700s, the use of iron tools made the carving work faster and easier. In the early days, the basic design for figures may have been painted on the wood to guide the carvers, but today's carvers use paper patterns as outlines for their designs. Carvers use chain saws to make the rough shapes and cuts, while adzes and chisels are used to chop the wood. Carvers use knives and other woodworking tools to add the finer details. When the carving is complete, paint is added to enhance specific details of the figures. Raising a totem pole is rarely done using modern methods, even for poles installed in modern settings. Most artists use a traditional method followed by a pole-raising ceremony. The traditional method calls for a deep trench to be dug. One end of the pole is placed at the bottom of the trench; the other end is supported at an upward angle by a wooden scaffold. Hundreds of strong men haul the pole upright into its footing, while others steady the pole from side ropes and brace it with cross beams. Once the pole is upright, the trench is filled with rocks and dirt. After the raising is completed, the carver, the carver's assistants, and others invited to attend the event perform a celebratory dance next to the pole. A community
potlatch A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States,Harkin, Michael E., 2001, Potlatch in Anthropology, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Scienc ...
celebration typically follows the pole raising to commemorate the event.Feldman, pp. 22–23. Totem poles are typically not well maintained after their installation and the potlatch celebration. The poles usually last from 60 to 80 years; only a few have stood longer than 75 years, and even fewer have reached 100 years of age. Once the wood rots so badly that the pole begins to lean and pose a threat to passersby, it is either destroyed or pushed over and removed. Older poles typically fall over during the winter storms that batter the coast. The owners of a collapsed pole may commission a new one to replace it.


Cultural property

Each culture typically has complex rules and customs regarding the traditional designs represented on poles. The designs are generally considered the property of a particular clan or family group of traditional carvers, and this ownership of the designs may not be transferred to the person who has commissioned the carvings. There have been protests when those who have not been trained in the traditional carving methods, cultural meanings and protocol, have made "fake totem poles" for what could be considered crass public display and commercial purposes. The
misappropriation In law, misappropriation is the unauthorized use of another's name, likeness, identity, property, discoveries, inventions, etc. without that person's permission, resulting in harm to that person. Another use of the word refers to intentional a ...
of coastal Pacific Northwest culture by the art and tourist trinket market has resulted in production of cheap imitations of totem poles executed with little or no knowledge of their complex stylistic conventions or cultural significance. These include imitations made for commercial and even comedic use in venues that serve alcohol, and in other settings that are insensitive or outright offensive to the sacred nature of some of the carvings. In the early 1990s, the
Haisla Haisla may refer to: * Haisla people, an indigenous people living in Kitamaat, British Columbia, Canada. * Haisla language, their northern Wakashan language. * Haisla Nation The Haisla Nation is the Indian Act-mandated band government which repr ...
First Nation of the Pacific Northwest began a lengthy struggle to repatriate the Gʼpsgolox totem pole from Sweden's Museum of Ethnography. Their successful efforts were documented in Gil Cardinal's
National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...
documentary, ''Totem: The Return of the G'psgolox Pole''. In October 2015, a Tlingit totem pole was returned from Hawaii to Alaska after being taken from a village by Hollywood actor John Barrymore in 1931.


Gallery

File:Tlingit totem pole.jpg, Tlingit totem pole in Ketchikan, Alaska, File:Alert Bay Totems.jpg, Totem poles in front of homes in Alert Bay, British Columbia in the 1900s File:Haida Houses.jpg, Totem poles in Skidegate, 26 July 1878 File:Totem Park pole 1.jpg, A totem pole in Totem Park,
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...
File:Totem Park pole 2.jpg, From Totem Park,
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...
File:Tlingit K'alyaan Totem Pole August 2005.jpg, The ''K'alyaan'' Totem Pole of the Tlingit Kiks.ádi Clan, erected at Sitka National Historical Park to commemorate the lives lost in the 1804 Battle of Sitka File:Totem pole (js) 2.jpg, From Saxman Totem Park, Ketchikan, Alaska File:Totem pole (js) 1.jpg, From Saxman Totem Park, Ketchikan, Alaska File:Totem poles.jpg, From Brockton Point,
Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada, that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Vancouver, Downtown peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay, Vancouver, English Bay. The park bor ...
, Vancouver,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
File:Replica of G'psgolox Pole.jpg, Replica of G'psgolox Pole. A gift from the Haisla First Nation to the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm, Sweden. File:50th Infantry Regiment Coat of Arms.png, US 50th Infantry Regiment Coat of arms with a totem pole arrangement of a US American eagle and a Russian Bear (signifying transfer of ownership of Alaska from Russia to United States) File:Kwakwaka’wakw House Post.jpg, Kwakwaka'wakw House Post at the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
File:Moa-4.jpg, House post at the
Museum of Anthropology at UBC The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada displays world arts and cultures, in particular works by First Nations in Canada, First Nations of the Pacific Northwest. As well ...
File:Haida totem pole. Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC.jpg, Haida totem pole. Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC File:WTMTL Organisateur Mât totémique Kwakiutl (milieu).jpg, Kwakwaka'wakw totem pole on
Notre Dame Island Notre Dame Island () is an artificial island in the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is immediately to the east of Saint Helen's Island and west of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the city of Saint-Lambert on the south sh ...
in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
File:Seattle - Curiosity Shop 04.jpg, Totem poles at Ye Olde Curiosity Shop File:Emily Carr 1928 Kitwancool.png, 1928 Emily Carr painting, ''Kitwancool'' File:Totem Pole Sculpture by Lelooska Smith displayed at Denver Museum of Nature and Science.jpg, Totem pole by Lelooska, Don Morse Smith (non-Native) at Denver Museum of Nature and Science File:Kayung Pole.jpg, The Kayung totem pole in 1884 File:British Museum Totem Pole 1.jpg, The Kayung totem pole at the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
File:DSC02472 - Grand Hall.jpg, Totem poles at the
Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...
File:Totem Canadiense DSC 0441 (33954720623).jpg, Totem pole at Chapultepec


Examples

The title of "The World's Tallest Totem Pole" is or has at one time been claimed by several coastal towns of North America's Pacific Northwest.Kramer, ''Alaska's Totem Poles'', p. 83. Disputes over which is genuinely the tallest depends on factors such the number of logs used in construction or the affiliation of the carver. Competitions to make the tallest pole remain prevalent, although it is becoming more difficult to procure trees of sufficient height. The tallest poles include those in: * Alert Bay, British Columbia—, Kwakwaka'wakw. This pole is composed of two or three pieces. * McKinleyville, California—, carved from a single redwood tree by Ernest Pierson and John Nelson. * Kalama, Washington—, carved from a single pole by Lelooska. * Kake, Alaska—, single log carving, Tlingit *
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...
( Beacon Hill Park)—, raised in 1956, Kwakwaka'wakw, carved by Mungo Martin with Henry Hunt and David Martin. *
Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
(Fireman's Park)—, carved by Alaska Natives in 1903. *
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, British Columbia (Maritime Museum) —, Kwakwaka'wakw, carved by Mungo Martin with Henry Hunt and David Martin. The thickest totem pole ever carved to date is in
Duncan, British Columbia Duncan is a city on southern Vancouver Island in the Cowichan Valley Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is the smallest city in Canada by area. It was incorporated as a city in 1912. Location The city is about 45 kilometres from b ...
. Carved by Richard Hunt in 1988 in the Kwakwaka'wakw style, and measuring over in diameter, it represents Cedar Man transforming into his human form. Notable collections of totem poles on display include these sites: *
Alaska State Museum The Alaska State Museum is a museum in Juneau, Alaska, United States. The museum's collections include cultural materials from the people of the Northwest Coast ( Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian), the Athabascan cultures of Interior Alaska, the In ...
,
Juneau, Alaska Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Southeast Alaska, Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the ...
*
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, New York * Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture,
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
,
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
*
Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...
, Hull area of Gatineau, Quebec *
Duncan, British Columbia Duncan is a city on southern Vancouver Island in the Cowichan Valley Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is the smallest city in Canada by area. It was incorporated as a city in 1912. Location The city is about 45 kilometres from b ...
, the City of Totems * Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site,
Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the British Columbia Coast, northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia ...
, British Columbia * Haida Heritage Centre, Skidegate, British Columbia * 'Ksan, near
Hazelton, British Columbia Hazelton is a village municipality in the Skeena Country, Skeena region of west central British Columbia, Canada. The place is on the southeast side of the Skeena River immediately north of the Bulkley River mouth, where the confluence forms a pen ...
*
Museum of Anthropology at UBC The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada displays world arts and cultures, in particular works by First Nations in Canada, First Nations of the Pacific Northwest. As well ...
, Vancouver, British Columbia * Nisga'a and Haida Crest Poles of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto * Nisga'a Museum, in Laxgalts'ap, British Columbia * Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia * Saxman Totem Park, Saxman, Alaska * Sitka National Historical Park,
Sitka, Alaska Sitka (; ) is a municipal home rule, unified Consolidated city-county, city-borough in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was under Russian America, Russian rule from 1799 to 1867. The city is situated on the west side of Ba ...
*
Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada, that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Vancouver, Downtown peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay, Vancouver, English Bay. The park bor ...
(Brockton Point), Vancouver, British Columbia * Totem Bight State Historical Park, Ketchikan, Alaska * Thunderbird Park, Victoria, British Columbia * Totem Heritage Center, Ketchikan, AlaskaKramer, ''Alaska's Totem Poles'', pp. 84–85.


See also

*
Huabiao Huabiao () is a type of ceremonial column used in traditional Chinese architecture. ''Huabiao'' are traditionally erected in pairs in front of palaces and tombs. The prominence of their placement have made them one of the emblems of tradition ...
*
Obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...
* Jangseung *
Crest (heraldry) A crest is a component of a heraldic display, consisting of the device borne on top of the helm. Originating in the decorative sculptures worn by knights in tournaments and, to a lesser extent, battles, crests became solely pictorial after ...
*
Stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...
* Roofed pole *
Irminsul An Irminsul (Old Saxon 'great pillar') was a sacred, Column, pillar-like object attested as playing an important role in the Germanic paganism of the Saxons. Medieval sources describe how an Irminsul was destroyed by Charlemagne during the Saxon ...
*
Tiki In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small woo ...
* Chemamull *
Serge (religious) A ''serge'' (; ) is a hitching post, property marker, and ritual pole used among the Buryats and Yakuts. Property marker The is placed to indicate that the place in question has an owner. For example, a stands as a pole at the entrance to ...
* Conservation and restoration of totem poles


Notes


References

* Barbeau, Marius (1950
''Totem Poles: According to Crests and Topics.'' Vol. 1.
(Anthropology Series 30, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 119.) Ottawa: National Museum of Canada. (PDFs) * Barbeau, Marius (1950
''Totem Poles: According to Location.'' Vol. 2.
(Anthropology Series 30, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 119.) Ottawa: National Museum of Canada. (PDFs) * * Garfield, Viola E. (1951) ''Meet the Totem.'' Sitka, Alaska: Sitka Printing Company. * Garfield, Viola E., and Forrest, Linn A. (1961) ''The Wolf and the Raven: Totem Poles of Southeastern Alaska.'' Revised edition. Seattle: University of Washington Press. . * Jonaitis, Aldona. (1990) "Totem Poles And The Indian New Deal," ''European Contributions to American Studies'' Vol. 18, pp 267–277. * Keithahn, Edward L. (1963) ''Monuments in Cedar.'' Seattle, Washington: Superior Publishing Co. * * * * * Reed, Ishmael (ed.) (2003) ''From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry across the Americas, 1900-2002.'' . * Wherry, Joseph H. (1964) ''The Totem Pole Indians.'' New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company.


Further reading

* Averill, Lloyd J., and Daphne K. Morris (1995) ''Northwest Coast Native and Native-Style Art: A Guidebook for Western Washington.'' Seattle: University of Washington Press. * Brindze, Ruth (1951) ''The Story of the Totem Pole.'' New York: Vanguard Press. * Halpin, Marjorie M. (1981) ''Totem Poles: An Illustrated Guide.'' Vancouver, BC: UBC Press. * Hassett, Dawn, and F. W. M. Drew (1982) ''Totem Poles of Prince Rupert.'' Prince Rupert, BC: Museum of Northern British Columbia. * Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane (1990) ''Totem Pole.'' New York: Holiday House. * Huteson, Pamela Rae. (2002) ''Legends in Wood, Stories of the Totems.'' Tigard, Oregon: Greatland Classic Sales. * Macnair, Peter L., Alan L. Hoover, and Kevin Neary (1984) ''The Legacy: Tradition and Innovation in Northwest Coast Indian Art.'' Vancouver, BC: Douglas & McIntyre. * Meuli, Jonathan (2001) ''Shadow House: Interpretations of Northwest Coast Art.'' Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers. * Smyly, John, and Carolyn Smyly (1973) ''Those Born at Koona: The Totem Poles of the Haida Village Skedans, Queen Charlotte Islands.'' Saanichton, BC: Hancock House. * Stewart, Hilary (1979) ''Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast.'' Vancouver, BC: Douglas & McIntyre. * Stewart, Hilary (1993). ''Looking at Totem Poles.'' Seattle: University of Washington Press. .


External links


Article related to conservation of Pacific Northwest totem poles
online interpretive tour
''Totem: The Return of the Gpsgolox Pole''
a feature-length film by Gil Cardinal,
National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

Totem Poles: Heraldic Columns of the Northwest Coast Essay by Robin K. Wright
niversity of Washington Digital Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Totem Pole Culture of the United States Native American relics Culture of Canada Culture of the Pacific Northwest Heraldry Indigenous woodcarving of the Americas Indigenous culture of the Pacific Northwest Northwest Coast art