A Gitxsan pole (left) and Kwakwaka'wakw pole (right) at Thunderbird Park in Victoria, British Columbia.

Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from great trees, usually cedar, typically Western Redcedar, by a number of Indigenous cultures along the Pacific northwest coast of North America. The word "totem" is derived from the Ojibwe word odoodem, "his totem, his kinship group" (root -oode). Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1704x2272, 3427 KB) Summary Thunderbird Park, 2006. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1704x2272, 3427 KB) Summary Thunderbird Park, 2006. ... (pronounced GIT-san) also spelled as Gitxsan pronounced the same. ... Kwakwakawakw girl wearing abalone shell earings. ... Thunderbird Park is a park in Victoria, British Columbia located next to the Royal British Columbia Museum. ... This article is about the city of Victoria. ... Sculptor redirects here. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... Species Thuja plicata Western Redcedar, Thuja plicata, a species of thuja, is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to the northwestern US and southwestern Canada, from southern Alaska and British Columbia south to northwest California and inland to western Montana. ... Native Americans redirects here. ... The Pacific Northwest from space The Pacific Northwest, abbreviated PNW, or PacNW is a region in the northwest of North America. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... The Anishinaabe language or the Ojibwe group of languages or Anishinaabemowin in Eastern Ojibwe syllabics) is the third most commonly spoken Native language in Canada (after Cree and Inuktitut), and the fourth most spoken in North America (behind Navajo, Cree, and Inuktitut). ... A totem is any entity which watches over or assists a group of people, such as a family, clan or tribe (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary [1] and Websters New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition). ...

History

The beginning of totem pole construction started in North America. Being made of wood, they decay easily in the rainforest environment of the Northwest Coast, so no examples of poles carved before 1800 exist. However, 18th century accounts of European explorers along the coast indicate that poles certainly existed at that time, although small and few in number. In all likelihood, the freestanding poles seen by the first European explorers were preceded by a long history of monumental carving, particularly interior house posts. Eddie Malin (1986) has proposed a theory of totem pole development which describes totem poles as progressing from house posts, funerary containers, and memorial markers into symbols of clan and family wealth and prestige. He argues that pole construction was centered around the Haida people of the Queen Charlotte Islands, from whence it spread outward to the Tsimshian and Tlingit and then down the coast to the tribes of British Columbia and northern Washington. The regional stylistic differences between poles would then be due not to a change in style over time, but instead to application of existing regional artistic styles to a new medium. Early-20th-century theories, such as those of the anthropologist Marius Barbeau who considered the poles an entirely post-contact phenomenon made possible by the introduction of metal tools, were treated with skepticism at the time and are now discredited. The Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... This article is about the people. ... Leaving Skidegate Inlet aboard BC Ferries M/V Queen of Prince Rupert The Queen Charlotte Islands or Haida Gwaii (Land of the Haida) are an archipelago off the northwest coast of British Columbia, Canada, consisting of two main islands, Graham Island in the North, and Moresby Island in the south... The Tsimshian, usually pronounced in English as // (SIM-shee-an), translated as People Inside the Skeena River, are Indigenous, or Native American and First Nation people who live around Terrace and Prince Rupert, on the north coast of British Columbia and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island. ... A Tlingit totem pole in Ketchikan ca. ... Motto: Splendor sine occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English (de facto) Government Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament House seats 36 Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area  Ranked 5th Total 944... For the capital city of the United States, see Washington, D.C.. For other uses, see Washington (disambiguation). ... Marius Barbeau Credit: J. Alex Castonguay/Library and Archives Canada/C-034447 Charles Marius Barbeau (March 5, 1883 – February 27, 1969), also known as C. Marius Barbeau, or more commonly simply Marius Barbeau, was a Canadian ethnographer and folklorist who is today considered a founder of Canadian anthropology. ...

Totem poles in front of houses in Alert Bay, British Columbia in the 1900s.

The disruptions following Euro-American trade and settlement first led to a florescence and then to a decline in the cultures and totem pole carving. The widespread importation of Euro-American iron and steel tools led to much more rapid and accurate production of carved wooden goods, including poles. It is not certain whether iron tools were actually introduced by Europeans, or whether iron tools were already produced aboriginally from drift iron recovered from shipwrecks; nevertheless Europeans simplified the acquisition of iron tools whose use greatly enhanced totem pole construction. The fur trade gave rise to a tremendous accumulation of wealth among the coastal peoples, and much of this wealth was spent and distributed in lavish potlatches frequently associated with the construction and erection of totem poles. Poles were commissioned by many wealthy leaders to represent their social status and the importance of their families and clans. As the fur trade declined the incidence of poverty on the coast increased. Christian missionaries reviled the totem pole as an object of heathen worship and urged converts to cease production and destroy existing poles.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links Alert_Bay_Totems. ... Image File history File links Alert_Bay_Totems. ... Read I heard the Owl Call My Name ... For other uses, see Potlatch (disambiguation). ...

Totem pole construction underwent a dramatic decline at the end of the 19th century due to American and Canadian urges towards Euro-American enculturation and assimilation. Fortunately, in the mid-twentieth century a combination of cultural, linguistic, and artistic revival along with intense scholarly scrutiny and the continuing fascination and support of an educated and empathetic public led to a renewal and extension of this moribund 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, stone, blown and etched glass, and many other traditional and non-traditional media.. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the journal, see Linguistics (journal). ... Sculpting hot blown glass. ...

Today a number of successful native artists carve totem poles on commission, usually taking the opportunity to educate apprentices in the demanding art of traditional carving and its concomitant joinery. Such modern poles are almost always executed in traditional styles, although some artists have felt free to include modern subject matter or use nontraditional styles in their execution. The commission for a modern pole ranges in the tens of thousands of dollars; the time spent carving after initial designs are completed usually lasts about a year, so the commission essentially functions as the artist's primary means of income during the period.

Style

Poles of all types share a common graphic style of carved and painted containers, housefronts, canoes, masks, intricately-woven blankets, ceremonial dress, weapons, armor, and many other tools and implements (Malin 1986). Two distinct systems of art were developed for two-dimensional and three-dimensional figures, but both were maintained within the common graphic style. This style was developed by Northwest Coast Native Peoples (see Native Americans) over many thousands of years, as evinced by stone and bone artifacts uncovered in archaeological studies which display clear examples of the same design motifs.

Meaning and purpose

From left to right, the One-Legged Fisherman pole, the Raven pole, and the Killer Whale pole in Wrangell, Alaska.

The meanings of the designs on totem poles are as varied as the cultures which produce them. Totem poles may recount familiar legends, clan lineages, or notable events. Some poles are erected to celebrate cultural beliefs, but others are intended mostly as artistic presentations. Certain types of totem pole are part of mortuary structures incorporating grave boxes with carved supporting poles, or recessed backs in which grave boxes were placed. Poles are also carved to illustrate stories, to commemorate historic persons, to represent shamanic powers, and to provide objects of public ridicule. "Some of the figures on the poles constitute symbolic reminders of quarrels, murders, debts, and other unpleasant occurrences about which the Indians prefer to remain silent... The most widely known tales, like those of the exploits of Raven and of Kats who married the bear woman, are familiar to almost every native of the area. Carvings which symbolize these tales are sufficiently conventionalized to be readily recognizable even by persons whose lineage did not recount them as their own legendary history." (Reed 2003). Housefront poles were meant to show the success of the families. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1536x2048, 1128 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Totem pole Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1536x2048, 1128 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Totem pole Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... Totem poles at the Shakes house Wrangell is a city in Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, Alaska, United States. ...

Totem poles were never objects of worship; the association with "idol worship" was an idea from local Christian missionaries. The same assumption was made by very early European explorers, but later explorers such as Jean-François de La Pérouse noted that totem poles were never treated reverently; they seemed only occasionally to generate allusions or illustrate stories and were usually left to rot in place when people abandoned a village. Lapérouse by François Rude (1784-1855), in 1828 Lapérouse Jean François Galaup, count (comte) de La Pérouse (August 23, 1741 - 1788) was a French naval officer and explorer whose expedition vanished in Oceania. ...

Totem poles at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia.

Vertical order of images is widely believed to be a significant representation of importance. This idea is so pervasive that it has entered into common parlance with the phrase "low man on the totem pole". This phrase is indicative of the most common belief of ordering importance, that the higher figures on the pole are more important or prestigious. A counterargument frequently heard is that figures are arranged in a "reverse hierarchy" style, with the most important representations being on the bottom, and the least important being on top. Actually there have never been any restrictions on vertical order, many poles have significant figures on the top, others on the bottom, and some in the middle. Other poles have no vertical arrangement at all, consisting of a lone figure atop an undecorated column. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2272x1704, 1988 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Totem pole Museum of Anthropology at UBC User:Buchanan-Hermit/photographs/uel Metadata This file contains additional information... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2272x1704, 1988 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Totem pole Museum of Anthropology at UBC User:Buchanan-Hermit/photographs/uel Metadata This file contains additional information... The Museum of Anthropology. ... The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Canadian public research university with campuses in Vancouver and Kelowna. ...

Shame poles

The poles used for public ridicule are usually called "shame poles", and were erected to shame individuals or groups for unpaid debts. Shame poles are today rarely discussed, and their meanings have in many places been forgotten. However, they formed an important subset of poles carved throughout the 19th century.

One famous shame pole is the Lincoln Pole in Saxman, Alaska; it was apparently created to shame the U.S. government into repaying the Tlingit people for the value of slaves which were freed after the Emancipation Proclamation. Other explanations for it have arisen as the original reason was forgotten or suppressed, however this meaning is still clearly recounted by a number of Tlingit elders today. Saxman is a city located in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska. ... For other uses, see Alaska (disambiguation). ... A Tlingit totem pole in Ketchikan ca. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Emancipation Proclamation Reproduction of the Emancipation Proclamation at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio The Emancipation Proclamation consists of two documents issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. ...

Shakes Island in Wrangell. The Three Frogs pole is visible on the far right.

Another example of the shame pole is the Three Frogs Pole in Wrangell, Alaska. This pole was erected by Chief Shakes to shame the Kiks.ádi clan into repaying a debt incurred by three of their slaves who impregnated some young women in Shakes's clan. When the Kiks.ádi leaders refused to pay support for the illegitimate children Shakes had the pole commissioned to represent the three slaves as frogs, the frog being the primary crest of the Kiks.ádi clan. This debt was never repaid, and thus the pole still stands next to the Chief Shakes Tribal House in Wrangell. This particular pole's unique crossbar shape has become popularly associated with the town of Wrangell. It was thus used, without recognizing the meaning of the pole, as part of the title design of the Wrangell Sentinel newspaper, where it is still seen today. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1609 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Totem pole Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1609 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Totem pole Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... Totem poles at the Shakes house Wrangell is a city in Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, Alaska, United States. ... The Lineages of the Shakes There was a man named Gush X’een (Dorsal Fin Screen) who lived at Ch’aal’it Aan. ... For other uses, see Clan (disambiguation). ...

The construction of shame poles has essentially ceased within the last century. This is attributable to a decline in interclan rivalries and clan relationships in general, and to a desire for solidarity among most native tribes. However, as feelings of independence and nationalism increase among Northwest coast people, erecting shame poles against the American and Canadian governments has been occasionally proposed, though usually in a facetious manner. If outrage against some political decision is strong enough among the people of a particular Northwest coast tribe the erection of a new shame pole may again become a possibility, although the cost of construction will likely be a major inhibition.

A shame pole was erected in Cordova, Alaska on March 24, 2007. It includes the inverted and distorted face of Exxon ex-CEO Lee Raymond. representing the unpaid debt that courts determined Exxon owes for having caused the oil spill in Valdez, Alaska. See the Anchorage Daily News article on the pole's unveiling Cordova is a small city located near the mouth of the Copper River in Alaska, at the head of Orca Inlet on the east side of Prince William Sound. ... is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Lee R. Raymond (born August 13, 1938) was the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of ExxonMobil from 1999 to 2005. ... This article is about the fuel brand. ... The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, which occurred on March 24, 1989, is considered one of the most devastating man-made environmental disasters ever to occur at sea. ... Valdez (IPA: ) is a city in Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. ...

Construction and maintenance

Dancing at a pole-raising celebration in Klawock, Alaska.

Erection of a totem pole is almost never done using modern methods, even for poles installed in modern settings on the outside of public and private buildings. Instead the traditional ceremony and process of erection is still followed scrupulously by most artists, in that a great wooden scaffold is built and hundreds of strong men haul the pole upright into its footing while others steady the pole from side ropes and brace it with cross beams. Once the pole is erected a potlatch is typically held where the carver is formally paid and other traditional activities are conducted. The carver will usually, once the pole is freestanding, perform a celebratory and propitiary dance next to the pole while wielding the tools used to carve it. Also, the base of the pole is burnt before erection to provide a sort of rot resistance, and the fire is made with chips carved from the pole. Image File history File linksMetadata Klawock-dancing. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Klawock-dancing. ... Klawock is a city located in Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area, Alaska. ...

Totem poles are typically not well maintained after their erection. Traditionally once the wood rots so badly that it begins to lean and pose a threat to passersby, the pole is either destroyed or pushed over and removed. Older poles typically fall over during the winter storms that batter the coast. A totem pole rarely lasts over 100 years. A collapsed pole may be replaced by a new one carved more or less the same as the original, with the same subject matter, but this requires a new payment and potlatch and is thus not always done. The beliefs behind the lack of maintenance vary among individuals, but generally it is believed that the deterioration of the pole is representative of natural processes of decay and death that occur with all living things, and attempts to prevent this are seen as somehow denying or ignoring the nature of the world.

This has not, however, prevented many people from occasionally renewing the paint on poles or performing further restorations, mostly because the expense of a new pole is beyond feasibility for the owner. Also, owners of poles who are not familiar with cultural traditions may see upkeep as a necessary investment for property, and ignore the philosophical implications. It is best to treat the question of totem pole maintenance on a case by case basis, especially asking the artist for their opinion on the matter during or just after the production process.

Property

The Kiks.ádi pole in Wrangell, Alaska.

Each culture typically has complex rules and customs regarding the designs which are represented on poles. The designs themselves are generally considered the property of a particular clan or family group, and this ownership may not be transferred to the owner of a pole (See also Heraldry). As such, pictures, paintings, and other copies of the designs may be an infringement of posessory rights of a certain family or cultural group. Thus it is important that the ownership of the artistic designs represented on a pole are respected as private property to the same extent that the pole itself is property. Public display and sale of pictures and other representations of totem pole designs should be cleared with both the owners of the pole and the cultural group or tribal government associated with the designs on the pole. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1737 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Totem pole Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1737 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Totem pole Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... The Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska have two moieties in their society, each of which is divided into a number of clans. ... Totem poles at the Shakes house Wrangell is a city in Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, Alaska, United States. ... Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ...

However totem poles in general are not the exclusive cultural property of a single culture, so the designs are not easily protected. The appropriation by art and tourist trinket worlds of Northwest Coast American culture has resulted in, among other things, an inundation of cheap imitations of totem poles executed with little or no knowledge of the complex stylistic conventions demanded by Northwest Coast art. This proliferation of "totem junk" has diluted the public interest and respect for the artistic skill and deep cultural knowledge required to produce a pole. Cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. ...

In the early 1990s, the Haisla First Nation of the Pacific Northwest began a lengthy struggle to repatriate a sacred totem from Sweden's Museum of Ethnography[1]. Their successful efforts were documented in an NFB documentary by Gil Cardinal, Totem: The Return of the G'psgolox Pole. The Haisla (also Xa’islak’ala, X̄a’islak̕ala, X̌àʔislak̕ala, X̄a’islak’ala, X̣aʔislak’ala, Xaislakala) are a First Nation people living at Kitamaat in British Columbia. ... Toronto offices for the National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (or NFB) is a Canadian public film-making organization organized to both fund and produce films that educate Canadians and promote Canada around the world. ...

Tlingit totem pole in Ketchikan, Alaska, circa 1901. Image File history File links Tlingit_totem_pole. ... A Tlingit totem pole in Ketchikan ca. ... Ketchikan (IPA: ) is the fifth most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska and the southeasternnmost sizable city in that state. ...	The K'alyaan Totem Pole of the Tlingit Kiks.ádi Clan, erected at Sitka National Historical Park to commemorate the lives lost in the 1804 Battle of Sitka. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1720x2580, 1248 KB) Summary The Kalyaan Totem Pole of the Tlingit Kiks. ... A Tlingit totem pole in Ketchikan ca. ... Alaskas oldest federally designated park was established in 1910 to commemorate the 1804 Battle of Sitka. ... The Battle of Sitka (1804) was the last major armed conflict between Europeans and Alaskan Natives, and was initiated in response to the destruction of a Russian trading post two years prior. ...	A totem pole in Totem Park, Victoria, British Columbia. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (456x1722, 519 KB) Summary From Totem Park, Victoria, BC. Precise location: [1] This photo was taken by Ryan Bushby(HighInBC) with his Canon PowerShot A520. ... This article is about the city of Victoria. ...	From Totem Park, Victoria, British Columbia. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (372x1958, 445 KB) Summary From Totem Park, Victoria, BC. Precise location: [1] This photo was taken by Ryan Bushby(HighInBC) with his Canon PowerShot A520. ... This article is about the city of Victoria. ...	From Saxman Totem Park, Ketchikan, Alaska Image File history File links Size of this preview: 429 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (550 × 768 pixels, file size: 89 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Template:Own work, copyleft, attribution required (GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3. ...
From Saxman Totem Park, Ketchikan, Alaska Image File history File links Size of this preview: 391 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (501 × 768 pixels, file size: 119 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Template:Own work, copyleft, attribution required (GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3. ...	From Saxman Totem Park, Ketchikan, Alaska Image File history File links Size of this preview: 439 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (562 × 768 pixels, file size: 136 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Template:Own work, copyleft, attribution required (GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3. ...	From Saxman Totem Park, Ketchikan, Alaska Image File history File links Size of this preview: 475 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (609 × 768 pixels, file size: 184 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Template:Own work, copyleft, attribution required (GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3. ...	From Saxman Totem Park, Ketchikan, Alaska Image File history File links Size of this preview: 395 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (506 × 768 pixels, file size: 112 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Template:Own work, copyleft, attribution required (GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3. ...

Totem poles of note

Victoria's "World's Tallest Totem Pole."

The title of "The World's Largest Totem Pole" is or has been claimed by several towns along the coast: ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1944x2592, 2333 KB) The Worlds Tallest Totem_Pole, (127 ft, 7 inches) located in Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, British_Columbia. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1944x2592, 2333 KB) The Worlds Tallest Totem_Pole, (127 ft, 7 inches) located in Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, British_Columbia. ...

• Alert Bay, British Columbia — 173 ft (56.4 m), Kwakwaka'wakw
• Vancouver, British Columbia (Maritime Museum) — 100 ft (30.5 m), Kwakwaka'wakw, carved by Mungo Martin with Henry Hunt and David Martin
• Victoria, British Columbia (Beacon Hill Park) — 127.5 ft (38.9 m), Kwakwaka'wakw, carved by Mungo Martin with Henry Hunt and David Martin
• Kalama, Washington — 140 ft (42.6 m), carved by Chief Lelooska
• Kake, Alaska — 137.5 ft (41.9 m), Tlingit

There are disputes over which is genuinely the tallest, depending on constraints such as construction from a single log or the affiliation of the carver. Competition for making the tallest pole is still prevalent, although it is becoming more difficult to procure trees of such heights. Read I heard the Owl Call My Name ... This article refers to the city in British Columbia, Canada. ... This article is about the city of Victoria. ... Kalama is a city located in Cowlitz County, Washington. ... Kake is a city located in Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, Alaska. ...

The thickest totem pole ever carved to date is in Duncan, British Columbia, carved by Richard Hunt in 1988, and measures over 6 ft (1.8 m) in diameter. It is carved in the Kwakwaka'wakw style, and represents Cedar Man transforming into his human form. Duncan, The City of Totems (pop. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Kwakwakawakw girl wearing abalone shell earings. ...

Standing a total of 173 feet tall, the world's tallest totem pole is comprised of two pieces of 168 and 5 feet. This one is in Alert Bay, British Columbia.

Totem poles outside North America

Poles similar to totem poles are also found elsewhere in the world. Due to their similarities to totem poles, they are often described as being totem poles. Two other most notable cultures with such example of having a totem pole-like objects are those by the Māori and the Ainu. This article is about the Māori people of New Zealand. ... Ainu ) IPA: (also called Ezo in historical texts) are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaidō, northern HonshÅ«, the Kuril Islands, much of Sakhalin, and the southernmost third of the Kamchatka peninsula. ...

Poles have been exported to be displayed out of their original context. In Britain, at the side of Virginia Water Lake, in the south of Windsor Great Park there is a 100 foot high Canadian totem pole given to Queen Elizabeth II, commemorating the centenary of British Columbia. Waterfall at eastern end of lake Virginia Water Lake lies on the southern edge of Windsor Great Park, in the borough of Runnymede in Surrey and the civil parishes of Old Windsor and Sunninghill and Ascot in Berkshire, in England. ... Deer crossing the Long Walk to Windsor Castle Windsor Great Park (locally referred to simply as the Great Park) is a large deer park and Crown Estate of 5,000 acres, to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. ... Elizabeth II in an official portrait as Queen of Canada (on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee in 2002, wearing the Sovereigns badges of the Order of Canada and the Order of Military Merit) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary) (born 21 April 1926), styled HM The... Motto: Splendor sine occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English (de facto) Government Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament House seats 36 Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area  Ranked 5th Total 944...

Sources

• Barbeau, Marius (1950) Totem Poles. 2 vols. (Anthropology Series 30, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 119.) Ottawa: National Museum of Canada.
• Garfield, Viola E., and Forrest, Linn A. (1961) The Wolf and the Raven: Totem Poles of Southeastern Alaska. Revised edition. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-73998-3.
• Malin, Edward (1986) Totem Poles of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-295-1.
• Reed, Ishmael (ed.) (2003) From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry across the Americas, 1900-2002. ISBN 1560254580.

Viola E. Garfield (1899-1983) was an American anthropologist best known for her work on the social organization and plastic arts of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia and Alaska. ...

Further reading

• Averill, Lloyd J., and Daphne K. Morris (1995) Northwest Coast Native and Native-Style Art: A Guidebook for Western Washington. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
• Brindze, Ruth (1951) The Story of the Totem Pole. New York: Vanguard Press.
• Garfield, Viola E. (1951) Meet the Totem. Sitka, Alaska: Sitka Printing Company.
• Halpin, Marjorie M. (1981) Totem Poles: an illustrated guide. Vancouver: UBC Press.
• Hassett, Dawn, and F. W. M. Drew (1982) Totem Poles of Prince Rupert. Prince Rupert, B.C.: Museum of Northern British Columbia.
• Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane (1990) Totem Pole. New York: Holiday House.
• Huteson, Pamela Rae. (2002) Legends in Wood, Stories of the Totems. Tigard,Or: Greatland Classic Sales. ISBN 1-886462-51-8
• Keithahn, Edward L. (1945) Monuments in Cedar. Ketchikan, Alaska: Roy Anderson.
• Macnair, Peter L., Alan L. Hoover, and Kevin Neary (1984) The Legacy: Tradition and Innovation in Northwest Coast Indian Art. Vancouver, B.C.: Douglas & McIntyre.
• Meuli, Jonathan (2001) Shadow House: Interpretations of Northwest Coast Art. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers.
• Smyly, John, and Carolyn Smyly (1973) Those Born at Koona: The Totem Poles of the Haida Village Skedans, Queen Charlotte Islands. Saanichton, B.C.: Hancock House.
• Stewart, Hilary (1979) Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast. Vancouver, B.C.: Douglas & McIntyre.
• Stewart, Hilary (1993). Looking at Totem Poles. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-97259-9.
• Wherry, Joseph H. (1964) The Totem Pole Indians. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Totem poles

• Vancouver Totem Pole Pictures
• Totem Poles of the North American Northwest Coast Indians
• Native online.com
• Royal BC Museum
• Thunderbird Park – A Place of Cultural Sharing An interpretive tour with detailed information on the poles in Thunderbird Park. URL accessed 2006-06-27
• Totem Pole Websites A website bibliography.