Totem Poles Essay
The Wonder of Totem Poles
The discovery of totem poles were first recorded by white sailors in coastal Pacific Northwest when European explorers arrived in the region in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. French Europeans, upon first visiting the coastal areas of modern day Southeastern Alaska and British Columbia wrote of totems as legitimate, if not elegant, art forms. They were surprised that hunting/fishing peoples were creating such masterful art. The ornately painted and carved monoliths towered over the facades of homes and stood proudly throughout the villages along the rivers and coastline. Long freestanding poles made from cedar trees with effigies of beings (typically represented by animals, but not void of humans) carved …show more content…
along its length are referred to as totem poles. Designs were most often the identity of clans or families. The poles were raised as monuments in front of homes to honor dead chiefs, and a family’s ancestry. Some totem poles adorned doorways, and were even used as supports and beams both inside and outside of houses to proudly display lineage and were often incorporated with paintings. Totem poles were also carved to house the deceased. Originating in coastal north western North America, by the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples, the popularity of totem poles spread throughout the region both north and south —each tribe displaying the style of art for that region. A totem pole’s meaning was thought by outsiders as idols that the people worshipped. As Christianity spread to villages in the 19th century (1884), the Canadian Government outlawed the ceremonies (potlatches) that villagers held upon the raising of totem poles. As result, the indigenous people stopped creating the towering symbols of their group’s history. Tribes carved small totem poles to sell to tourists, then in 1951 the ban on ‘potlatches’ was lifted and people were freed to celebrate their heritage and ancestry. Today, totem poles are still being carved by highly skilled artists, but their use is not limited to the coastal areas where they originated. Instead they are found around the world. Expert sculptors carve totem poles to honor their family or clan heritage and by commission to museums, tribal corporations and private parties to earn a living.
What is a totem pole? According to Miriam Webster’s dictionary, a ‘totem’ pole is a pole or pillar carved and painted with a series of totemic symbols representing family lineage and often mythical or historical incidents and erected by Indian tribes of the northwestern coast of North America (fig.
i). Some find this term as derogatory so, for the purposes of this writing they may also be referred to by the acceptable name of ‘crest’ poles. Crest poles are commonly thought of as the tall poles bearing carvings of animals, marine life, birds, and human effigies standing along the beach villages of the inland passage mainland, islands and its plentiful rivers. However, crest poles take on many forms; Memorial poles, Potlatch poles, exterior and interior House poles, House Frontal poles, Ridicule poles and Mortuary poles. In modern times most are termed Commemorative Poles. Most poles tell of the genealogy of the resident, its clan and even their status in the community. The poles carried intricate abstract designs which distinguished the carvings as a highly skilled and long apprenticed art form. “This art form originated in the narrow strip of land, islands, and a few inland rivers, along the north Pacific coast of the North American continent, the area between the Pacific Ocean and the formidable coastal mountain barrier.” (Map
fig.1)
What are they made of? In the coastal areas of the Pacific northwest, western red cedar trees densely forested the landscape. Prized for its size, soft wood, long straight growth, and resistance to the elements, the indigenous people of the region told stories and their history by carving intricate sculptures from the giants logs they harvested. Some crest poles in the more northern reaches of southeast Alaska were made from spruce trees. “Although totem poles have become a symbol of all Northwest Coast Native people and their use has spread to neighboring tribes through the years, tall multiple-figure poles were first made only by the northern Northwest Coast Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian peoples in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia.” Crest pole carvings represent stories, familial or clan identities, status, memorials and history. Figures on a totem pole are not gods to be worshipped. Instead, they represent traits and characteristics each clan or story embodies. Before one delves too deeply into the art of crest poles, it may help to take a brief look into the history of their discovery.
Discovery In a race to add new territories in North America and expand the wealth and dominance of European empires, explorers were set out to the Pacific Northwest. Captain James Cook of England sailed the Resolution across the Pacific in 1778 in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage, in hopes to locate a route that would connect the Pacific to the North Atlantic trading routes. Spanish explorers Juan Perez Hernandez in 1774 and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra in 1774 were first recorded to the sail into the coastal pacific northwest. Though Capt. Cook arrived after the Spaniards, he was the first recorded European to interact extensively with an indigenous group on the coast. Cook sailed into a calm area in which he named Friendly Cove in March 1778, where he encountered the village of Yuquot, and met Chief Maquinna. Cook described the scene looking along the shoreline, “Their houses are situated close to the shore. They consist of long range buildings, some of which are one hundred and fifty feet in length, twenty four to thirty abroad and seven or eight high floor to roof…” His description mentioned 30’ x 5’ boards split from trees as siding and large logs used as framing.” Though Captain Cook’s description did not include long freestanding poles, the interior house posts of the structures were intricately sculptured with carved humanlike characters. An artist who accompanied James Cook recorded the inside of Yuquot - Chief Maquinn’s house in a drawing (fig.1), that is the first visual record of this fascinating art form. Communication was difficult with the indigenous peoples, thus the Europeans had trouble finding the meanings of the carvings. At best a yes or no answer was all they could muster when inquiring about figures on the posts. Captain James Cook did not find the Northwest Passage, however when his ship returned to England they reported the abundance of sea otters, which spurred an economic boom for European traders and the First Peoples of the Coastal Pacific Northwest. Fur traders and explorers poured in the region most by sea and some by land, where they encountered native villages, whose homes and building were adorned with “Monstrous wooden representations of fictitious beings about twice the size of a stout Man.” Those early accounts were void of describing the long, freestanding monuments we commonly refer to as totem poles. There is no written history recording the origins of crest poles. Until 1789, record spoke only of carved mortuaries, house posts and facade images on house fronts. Captain John Meares, first described the monolithic poles upon sailing to Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). Then in 1791 at Dadans, “John Bartlett, a seaman on the ship Gustavus III, drew the earliest known depiction of a multifigure totem pole.” Standing at 40 feet tall, the Dadens Totem Pole attached to the front of a house that had a passage going through the mouth of a man’s head where a doorway might be, and several animal figures climbing to the top which was capped with another figure.(fig.2)
The discovery of totem poles were first recorded by white sailors in coastal Pacific Northwest when European explorers arrived in the region in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. French Europeans, upon first visiting the coastal areas of modern day Southeastern Alaska and British Columbia wrote of totems as legitimate, if not elegant, art forms. They were surprised that hunting/fishing peoples were creating such masterful art. The ornately painted and carved monoliths towered over the facades of homes and stood proudly throughout the villages along the rivers and coastline. Long freestanding poles made from cedar trees with effigies of beings (typically represented by animals, but not void of humans) carved …show more content…
along its length are referred to as totem poles. Designs were most often the identity of clans or families. The poles were raised as monuments in front of homes to honor dead chiefs, and a family’s ancestry. Some totem poles adorned doorways, and were even used as supports and beams both inside and outside of houses to proudly display lineage and were often incorporated with paintings. Totem poles were also carved to house the deceased. Originating in coastal north western North America, by the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples, the popularity of totem poles spread throughout the region both north and south —each tribe displaying the style of art for that region. A totem pole’s meaning was thought by outsiders as idols that the people worshipped. As Christianity spread to villages in the 19th century (1884), the Canadian Government outlawed the ceremonies (potlatches) that villagers held upon the raising of totem poles. As result, the indigenous people stopped creating the towering symbols of their group’s history. Tribes carved small totem poles to sell to tourists, then in 1951 the ban on ‘potlatches’ was lifted and people were freed to celebrate their heritage and ancestry. Today, totem poles are still being carved by highly skilled artists, but their use is not limited to the coastal areas where they originated. Instead they are found around the world. Expert sculptors carve totem poles to honor their family or clan heritage and by commission to museums, tribal corporations and private parties to earn a living.
What is a totem pole? According to Miriam Webster’s dictionary, a ‘totem’ pole is a pole or pillar carved and painted with a series of totemic symbols representing family lineage and often mythical or historical incidents and erected by Indian tribes of the northwestern coast of North America (fig.
i). Some find this term as derogatory so, for the purposes of this writing they may also be referred to by the acceptable name of ‘crest’ poles. Crest poles are commonly thought of as the tall poles bearing carvings of animals, marine life, birds, and human effigies standing along the beach villages of the inland passage mainland, islands and its plentiful rivers. However, crest poles take on many forms; Memorial poles, Potlatch poles, exterior and interior House poles, House Frontal poles, Ridicule poles and Mortuary poles. In modern times most are termed Commemorative Poles. Most poles tell of the genealogy of the resident, its clan and even their status in the community. The poles carried intricate abstract designs which distinguished the carvings as a highly skilled and long apprenticed art form. “This art form originated in the narrow strip of land, islands, and a few inland rivers, along the north Pacific coast of the North American continent, the area between the Pacific Ocean and the formidable coastal mountain barrier.” (Map
fig.1)
What are they made of? In the coastal areas of the Pacific northwest, western red cedar trees densely forested the landscape. Prized for its size, soft wood, long straight growth, and resistance to the elements, the indigenous people of the region told stories and their history by carving intricate sculptures from the giants logs they harvested. Some crest poles in the more northern reaches of southeast Alaska were made from spruce trees. “Although totem poles have become a symbol of all Northwest Coast Native people and their use has spread to neighboring tribes through the years, tall multiple-figure poles were first made only by the northern Northwest Coast Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian peoples in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia.” Crest pole carvings represent stories, familial or clan identities, status, memorials and history. Figures on a totem pole are not gods to be worshipped. Instead, they represent traits and characteristics each clan or story embodies. Before one delves too deeply into the art of crest poles, it may help to take a brief look into the history of their discovery.
Discovery In a race to add new territories in North America and expand the wealth and dominance of European empires, explorers were set out to the Pacific Northwest. Captain James Cook of England sailed the Resolution across the Pacific in 1778 in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage, in hopes to locate a route that would connect the Pacific to the North Atlantic trading routes. Spanish explorers Juan Perez Hernandez in 1774 and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra in 1774 were first recorded to the sail into the coastal pacific northwest. Though Capt. Cook arrived after the Spaniards, he was the first recorded European to interact extensively with an indigenous group on the coast. Cook sailed into a calm area in which he named Friendly Cove in March 1778, where he encountered the village of Yuquot, and met Chief Maquinna. Cook described the scene looking along the shoreline, “Their houses are situated close to the shore. They consist of long range buildings, some of which are one hundred and fifty feet in length, twenty four to thirty abroad and seven or eight high floor to roof…” His description mentioned 30’ x 5’ boards split from trees as siding and large logs used as framing.” Though Captain Cook’s description did not include long freestanding poles, the interior house posts of the structures were intricately sculptured with carved humanlike characters. An artist who accompanied James Cook recorded the inside of Yuquot - Chief Maquinn’s house in a drawing (fig.1), that is the first visual record of this fascinating art form. Communication was difficult with the indigenous peoples, thus the Europeans had trouble finding the meanings of the carvings. At best a yes or no answer was all they could muster when inquiring about figures on the posts. Captain James Cook did not find the Northwest Passage, however when his ship returned to England they reported the abundance of sea otters, which spurred an economic boom for European traders and the First Peoples of the Coastal Pacific Northwest. Fur traders and explorers poured in the region most by sea and some by land, where they encountered native villages, whose homes and building were adorned with “Monstrous wooden representations of fictitious beings about twice the size of a stout Man.” Those early accounts were void of describing the long, freestanding monuments we commonly refer to as totem poles. There is no written history recording the origins of crest poles. Until 1789, record spoke only of carved mortuaries, house posts and facade images on house fronts. Captain John Meares, first described the monolithic poles upon sailing to Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). Then in 1791 at Dadans, “John Bartlett, a seaman on the ship Gustavus III, drew the earliest known depiction of a multifigure totem pole.” Standing at 40 feet tall, the Dadens Totem Pole attached to the front of a house that had a passage going through the mouth of a man’s head where a doorway might be, and several animal figures climbing to the top which was capped with another figure.(fig.2)