TOTEMS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST

Cedar was considered a gift from the Great Spirit to the Natives of the Northwest Coast. They used the inner bark for clothing and blankets. Huge slabs were split to build houses and the cedars were hollowed to make dugout canoes. Master craftsmen created beautifully carved totem poles.

Carvers had deep spiritual feelings toward the cedars. The killing of a tree that was six hundred years old was not taken lightly. The Natives compared the cedar to a living relative. It has a heart, boughs for lungs and roots as feet. It is nourished by Mother Earth and the sun in the same way as the People.

Native carvers often spoke to the tree before they felled it. They would explain why it was necessary for the tree to die and tell how great an honor it would be to become a representative of the People. They would pray that the tree's spirit would guide their hands before picking up the tools to carve it.

Totems were created for various reasons. Some were used for display, some for initiation rights. Others were used to represent close spiritual alliances or to tell a story. Always, totems were treated with reverence and respect. The status and wealth of the totem's owners often impressed visiting tribes. Totems were often used as Native gravemarkers or historical monuments.

Though totems were also used in other countries, the totems of the Pacific Northwest are of superb craftsmanship and are in a class of their own. The intricate detail and artistry leaves one breathless as you gaze upon these historic wonders.

Totems can be found throughout the 1300-mile wild and stormy coastal areas of Southeast Alaska, Washington and British Columbia. But the most skilled totem carvers were the Haida of Canada's Queen Charlotte Islands and the Kwakiutl who made their home along the channels and bays of central British Columbia. Other tribes known for the intricately carved totems are the Salish from eastern Vancouver Island, the Nuie-Chah-Nulth from the west coast of Vancouver Island and the Tsimshian of Alaska.

It is no coincidence that the greatest totems came from the land where giant red cedars stretch into the sky. Red Cedar is soft and the Native peoples could carve them easily with primitive hand tools. At one time chisels and fire felled the giant cedars but today, Natives use chain saws.

In order for a cedar tree to be used to carve a totem, it must be tall and perfectly straight. The average speed of a master carver is one foot per week. At times, more than one carver works on a totem. Nowadays, some carvers use power tools to "rough out" the totem. This was not the way in bygone times. A carver used only primitive tools to reveal vivid detail in the faces of his totem.

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