Totem poles

Totem poles are carved from great trees, most often Western Redcedar, along the Pacific coast of North America.

The poles often have lineage crests on them. During the nineteenth century, the great houses had poles in front of them. In all likelihood, the freestanding lineage poles seen by the first European explorers were preceded by a long history of monumental carving, including exterior and interior houseposts. Many villages, for example, contained mortuary structures which incorporated graveboxes with carved supporting poles. Poles of all these types shared a common graphic style with carved and painted containers, housefronts, canoes, masks, intricately-woven blankets, other ceremonial dress, weapons, armor, and many other tools and implements, from spoons, bracelets, and pipes to halibut hooks and spindle whorls.

This carving style was developed by Northwest Coast Native Peoples (see Native Americans) over many thousands of years. The styles most commonly seen on totem poles include the "classic" or "Northern" style of the Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian peoples of Southwestern Alaska and Northwestern British Columbia, Canada. Neighboring peoples of the Northern B.C. mainland and Northern Vancouver Island, including the Haisla and Bella Coola, also shared in and contributed to this northern style.

The Wakashan and Coast Salish-speaking peoples of Southern British Columbia (Vancouver Island and the nearby mainland) and of Northwestern Washington State shared a "Southern" painting and carving style. The dramatic and exuberant Thunderbirds and similar crest figures on totem poles and housefront paintings of the Wakashan-speaking Kwak-wakw-wakw (Kwakiutl) peoples are the best-known examples of this style. However, the wolf masks and dance screens of the West Coast (of Vancouver Island) peoples and the carved houseposts, spindle whorls, and ceremonial rattles of the Coast Salish-speaking peoples (of the Gulf of Georgia and Puget Sound), while less well known to the general public, are equally deserving of our respect and attention.

Although recognizably different, the Northern and Southern styles share enough resemblances that scholars assume a common origin, as well as a substantial amount of mutual influence over the centuries preceding European contact.

The disruptions following upon Euro-American trade and settlement first led to a "florescence" and then to a decline in the cultures and the carving. Today, fortunately, a combination of native cultural, linguistic, and artistic revival, along with intense scholarly scrutiny and the continuing fascination and support of an educated and empathetic public, have led to a renewal and extension of this ancient and magnificent artistic tradition. Freshly-carved totem poles are being erected up and down the coast. Related artistic production is pouring forth in many new and traditional media, ranging from tourist trinkets to masterful works in wood, paper, blown glass, and bronze.

See totem