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All About Haida Totems

© Mary M. Alward

We've learned that cedar was considered a gift from the Great Spirit by the Haida Nation. We've looked at the use of the cedar tree for canoes and homes. This week, we're going to look at the sacred totems that were created by skilled Haida carvers. These carvers made magnificent totems out of the giant cedars that grew in the forests of their homeland.

Felling a tree that was over six hundred years old wasn't a task that was lightly undertaken. In the Haida's eyes, the cedar was a living relative. They believed it had a heart, boughs for lungs and roots for feet. Mother Earth, they believed, cared for the cedar just as she did for the People. (Haida)

Before a tree was felled, the carver spoke to the tree. He told it why it had to die and explained the honor of representing the People. He prayed that the tree's spirit would guide his hands as he carved designs into the wood.

Totems were carved for many different reasons. They were used as spiritual allies or to tell a story. Totems were always treated with love and respect. They were symbols of status (position) within the tribe and also of wealth. They were used to impress other visiting tribes. They were often erected as gravemarkers and monuments.

The totems of the Haida are in a class of their own. No other tribe in the world were so skilled at carving totems. Haida carvers seemed to have skills far superior to those of carvers from other nations. The totems were adorned with intricate (very detailed) designs. The artistry is so magnificent that it leaves you breathless.

Red cedar was used for carving totems. The forests were thick with these giants that stretched hundreds of feet into the sky. The wood of the red cedar is soft, which made it much easier to carve with the primitive (early) tools of the Haida.

A cedar that was going to be used as a totem had to be perfectly straight. The trees were carved at the speed of one foot every week. Sometimes, more than one carver would work on a totem.

The designs on totems are always animals that the carver is very familiar with. Wolves, grizzly bears, ravens, frogs and halibut were, and still are, carved into totems. Halibut was a staple food of the Haida and were often given a place of honor on a totem.

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