Totem Poles

Traditionally, totem poles were carved to honor important individuals, commemorate significant events, or to proclaim the lineage and social standing of their owners. As such, they have great cultural importance, but are not religious objects and have never been worshipped. They are tangible references to the people, events, stories, and legends that figure in the oral histories of the thriving cultures of Northwest Coast Native peoples.

Southeast Alaska Totem Poles are most often carved from Western Red Cedar logs, which naturally repel insects and rot from the inside out. Most Totem Poles are carved from a single log with only occasional additions being added separately - i.e., eagle and raven beaks, killer whale dorsal fin, etc.

Totem Poles were never fully painted. Paint was used to accent the carving. Making the paint was laborious. The female tribal members would chew on salmon eggs and spit them into a bowl. The salmon eggs were the base to an oil-based paint, the saliva was the binding agent, and then powders were mixed to create the four main colors used: Black came from charcoal or lignite; red from iron ore; turquoise from copper oxide and clam shells were used for white.

Many of the figures carved on totem poles are “crests”– animals, mythological beings, or natural features symbolizing a clan’s history and origins. These crests are the property of clans and have been passed down through generations to maintain the connection to their ancestors. The crests, along with the stories and history associated with the crests, are prized as intangible communal property. They also serve to define the identity and lineage of the group’s individual members.

While the figures on a totem pole might be readily recognizable, the pole’s meaning can only be understood if one knows the purpose and occasion for which it was created, as well as the individuals, groups, or stories associated with it. Such information was traditionally introduced when the pole was raised during a potlatch celebration, then passed down orally from generation to generation. Guests from other clans who attended potlatches and other ceremonies bore witness to the celebrated event, serving to acknowledge its importance as part of a wider collective memory.

The Northwest Coast Native people that carve poles are the Haida, the Nuxalk, the Kwakwaka'wakw, the Tlingit, the Tsimshian and the Coast Salish, each with their own distinct carving and design style.