DiscoverTotems

from a Vancouver Sun Article

The Haida Nation is calling on North American museums to return a pair of rare war canoes mammoth northwest aboriginal relics no longer found on Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). The Haida are preparing to open a cultural centre in the village of Skidegate on Haida Gwaii that they hope will preserve their history and attract international tourism. The educational centre will allow the Haida to properly store and maintain precious artifacts, said Captain Gold, chair of the archeology committee for the Council of the Haida Nation. Gold said he'd like two prized Haida canoes to be returned to the West Coast centre one on display at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Que., the other in the American Museum of Natural History in New York. ''I think it belongs here,'' Gold said of the U.S.-based canoe. ''Here, in this location, we can properly explain it to the visitor. Here they get a better explanation for our culture than they would in New York.'' The American museum recently restored its 18.9-metre-long Haida-style war canoe, one of its most prized possessions, and unveiled it this week. The canoe is hung from the ceiling, as it was first exhibited in 1883. It's thought to be the largest surviving canoe once used by 19th-century northwest aboriginals. According to Gold, authentic 19th-century war canoes no longer exist on Haida Gwaii. Most were purchased or stolen during the late 19th century or destroyed by loggers, he said. ''When you look at some of the shady collector types that were taking artifacts in those years, you need to look at the circumstances these things were taken in the first place,'' Gold said. ''Many things were taken illegally or improperly.'' Despite the Haida's interest, neither museum said it plans to sell or return the canoes. Peter M. Whitely, curator of North American ethnology at the American Museum of Natural History, said their collection isn't for sale and a loan would of such a major exhibit item would be ''difficult to contemplate at this moment.'' New York offers the canoe a global showcase, Whitely said. The museum acquired the canoe in 1878 in British Columbia on a museum collecting expedition conducted in partnership with Israel Powell, then superintendent for Indian Affairs for B.C. The artifact was likely constructed in the late 1870s from a single western red cedar. While its paintings and design reflect the Haida tribe, Whitely said the canoe was obtained from the Heiltsuk tribe also known as the Bella Bella from the central B.C. coast. But Gold said the canoe is unmistakably of Haida origin in both design and art. Unlike the American-based relic, the Canadian Museum of Civilization's canoe is a replica commissioned for the 1904 World's Fair. While the museum has a policy on repatriating human remains and sacred objects, the nearly 16.5-metre Haida canoe does not apply. ''We're working closely with the Haida centre and we have a good conversation going,'' said Leslie Tupper, the museum's curator of ethnology for the Northwest coast. ''(But) it's unlikely we'll return the canoe it's large and fragile.'' Gold said a traditional war canoe would have taken roughly 60 people between one and three months to craft. The Haida Cultural Centre at Qay'llnagaay will have a ''soft'' opening next year, with a full opening slated for either 2008 or 2009.

The exhibit "Totems to Turquoise" is now showing at the Vancouver Museum in Vanier Park. It showcases artwork from the Northwest Haida, Kwakwaka’wakw, Tsimshian, Gitxsan, Nisga’a, Tlingit, Nuu-chah-nulth, Nuxalk, Heiltsuk, Haisla, and Coast Salish tribes, along with the southwest art of Zuni, Hopi, Santo Domingo, Taos, other Pueblos, Navajo, and Apache.  It contains over 100 objects from the American Museum of Natural History, as well as recent totem sculptures, traditional and modern masks, and photographs and videos.
The art of Masters such as Charles Edenshaw, Bill Reid, and Robert Davidson (all from our Northwest Coast) is also a highlighted.

 The exhibit includes a totem pole created by Jim Hart (a Hereditary Chief of the Haida Nation.

For more information visit the Exhibit Website

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I found this totem pole easily on my scooter on a chilly ride in early December.

It's entitled "Victory Through Honour" and was carved by Kwickwasutaineuk artist Ellen Neel. If you don't have a GPS device this onecan be found in front of UBC Welcome Centre at Brock Hall, 1874 East Mall.

"The pole tells of the five tests of Tsikumin, chief shaman of the Red Cedar Bark Dance and founder of Qui-Owa Sutinuk, ancestors of the carver. The Red Cedar Bark Dance was performed in Kitsilano Park during Vancouver's Jubilee in 1936." -from UBC Archives - Campus Sculptures

You can read more about it in this news article on the :
Re-dedication of Thunderbird Totem

One icons on the Musquem Welcome poles in the outdoor display at UBC's Museum of Anthropology bears an uncanny resemblence to the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Is it just my imagination or is this intentional on the part of the artist? You decide..

This 100 Foot High Totem Pole was dedicated at a seremony on October 15, 1958 as a memorial to British Columbia's Centennial Year. The Pole is an exact replica of one carved for Queen Elizabeth II by Chief Mungo Martin of the Kwakiutl Nation. Each Figure on the pole represents a Mythical ancestor of the ten tribes of the Kwakiutl nation.

Click Here to see a pictures of the Centennial totem pole!

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The interior design of the Vancouver's International Terminal was inspired by British Columbia's great outdoors and the art of the Northwest Coast that depicts British Columbia's native wildlife, mountains, rivers, forests, and aboriginal heritage.

It's hard to miss all the Haida and Salish art as you make your way off the plane and thru customs - be sure to notice
http://www.yvr.ca/guide/todo/art/salish.asp
Coast Salish Welcome Figures by
Susan A. Point in Carved Red Cedar as you make your way into the line up at customs.

Outdoor totems on loan from UBC's MOA

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I insist that everybody visit this Museum first if possible - it's one stop where you can put all the totems, their stories, the artists, the history and the cultures that developed all this wonderful symbolism and rich artistic tradition.

Located outside and behind the museum is the The Haida House complex, which includes examples of memorial and mortuary poles dating from 1951 to the present. On the the path to the complex are two massive houseboards carved by Musqueam artist Susan Point in 1997.

The newest pole on the site was raised on October 1, 2000 is the "The Respect to Bill Reid Pole," by Hereditary Chief and renowned Haida artist Jim Hart, now stands in front of the larger of the two Haida Houses - as a tribute to Bill Reid's legacy.

Fred Geocaching @ Museum

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The Kwakwaka'wak pole, 700 Hamilton St., depicts Dzoonokwa, the Wild Woman of the woods

This beauty is in the courtyard of CBC's Vancouver facility in the

Ok, so every culture get's co-oped at some point but here's an example of blending two iconic Canadian traditions - using totems to sell at Canadian Tire. As you glide down the escalator into the shiny new big-box version of Canadian Tire on Cambie after parking your car on the rooftop parking lot (interesting views of the city from there as well), you must check out the totem pole inside Canadian Tire!

lat=49.2992676591, lon=-123.120949487 Stanley Park
Don't expect to be alone when you arrive at this site, over 8 million people visit Stanley Park annually and most of them find their way to the Brockton totem pole area which claims to be the most visited tourist attraction in British Columbia.

There are 8 totem poles located here, and an an interpretive centre (aka a glorified souvenir shop) - but it's all very kid friendly, loads of bathrooms, and parking lots to accomodate the bus loads of tourists.