Discovering Totem Poles

Rising from a forest mist or soaring overhead in parks and museums, magnificent cedar totem poles have captured the attention and imagination of visitors to Washington State, British Columbia, and Alaska.

Discovering Totem Poles is the first guidebook to focus on the complex and fascinating histories of the specific poles visitors encounter in Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver, Alert Bay, Prince Rupert, Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), Ketchikan, Sitka, and Juneau. It debunks common misconceptions about totem poles and explores the stories behind the making and displaying of 90 different poles.

Travelers with this guide in their pockets will return home with a deeper knowledge of the monumental carvings, their place in history, and the people who made them.

Watch the book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAaAnYctJcg

Aldona Jonaitis is the author of a number of books including Art of the Northwest Coast and, with Aaron Glass, The Totem Pole: An Intercultural History. She is director emerita of the University of Alaska Museum of the North.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Seattle

1. The Seattle Totem Pole at Pioneer Square

2. Grizzly Bear House Posts at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture Victoria

3. Wawadit’la, the Mungo Martin House at the Royal British Columbia Museum

4. Sgaang Gwaii (Ninstints) Poles at the Royal British Columbia Museum

5. Tony Hunt’s Grizzly Bear and Human Post at Horseshoe Bay

Vancouver

6. Haesemhliyawn Memorial Totem Pole of the Gitk’san fromGitanyow (Kitwancool) at the Museum of Anthropology

7. Monuments by Bill Reid, Doug Cranmer, and Jim Hart at the Museum of Anthropology

8. The Thunderbird House Post by Tony Hunt at Stanley Park

9. Carvings by Susan Point, Joe David, and Don Yeomans at Vancouver International Airport

Vancouver Island

10. The World’s Tallest Pole at Alert Bay

11. The Poles in Alert Bay Prince Rupert

12. Eagle on the Decayed Pole at Prince Rupert by Dempsey Bob and Glen Wood

Haida Gw aii

13. Qay’llnagaay (Sea Lion Town) Ketchikan

14. Saxman and Totem Bight

15. A Portrait in Saxman Park

16. The Clan House at Totem Bight

17. The Chief Kyan Pole

18. The Ketchikan Indian Community Tribal Health Center Totem Poles Sitka

19. Chief Saanaheit’s Poles at the Sitka National Historical Park

20. Sitka’s Monuments at World’s Fairs

21. The K’aylaan Pole by Tommy Joseph

22. The Sitka Wellbreity Totem Pole by Wayne Price

Juneau

23. Culturally Modified Trees by Richard Beasley at Mount Roberts

24. The Waasgo Pole at the Alaska State Office Building

25. The Wooshkeetan Pole by Nathan Jackson and Steve Brown

Conclusion

Suggested Further Reading

Index