How have societal changes influenced the way Totem Poles are valued and viewed by Canadians?
By crawbroo996
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Physical Function of a totem pole
Historically, totem poles are meant to embody ancestors, clan, tribe, or kinship. Certain detailed characteristics about each individual totem pole can tell a different story or share a different truth/background, and can even display one's native history. This was important during this time because it helped determine who was responsible for trading, fishing, hunting, weaving, etc., which allowed for community and individuality. -
Coastal Expression of Art
The First Nations would not only use totem poles as means of communication between kin and other clans, but they allowed them to be creative and unique. The various colours, patterns, figures, and even beliefs could be used as part of the totem pole, which allows for such a diverse cultural history. Totem poles are now seen as a symbol of Western Canadian cultural art, rather than a signal of kinship or tribes, due to societal changes throughout the world. -
Economical Purpose of totem poles
Totem poles even had an impact on an individual's or family's rights and freedoms for certain important things in their lives. For instance, a certain pattern on the totem poles can indicate their ownership of a particular piece of land, or the rights to have cattle. These intricate patterns and colours are currently just seen as magnificent art, as opposed to a symbol of ownership and rights, due to societal focus on newer technologies and cultural evolution. -
Creation of the first Totem Pole
Initiated by the Northern West Coast Canadian First Nation peoples, including Natives from British Columbia and Alaska, these poles were to symbolize kinship, tradition, and Canadian culture. Throughout the years, society had shifted its focus to more advanced or broad forms of art and historical symbols, and essentially, us Canadians currently view totem poles as an ancient form of Canadian art, and an artifact of the past. -
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Material used for totem poles
During this time period, red cedar tree trunks were used as the wood for the totem poles, primarily because they had the greatest resistance to rotting. Any material changes after this point were due to the European presence, and thus, put a dampener on the significance and cultural meaning of totem poles (part of assimilation). -
Royal Proclamation in Canada
Introduced in 1763, the Royal Proclamation was both beneficial and harmful for First Nations peoples, as it ensured various rights and freedoms, but it also supported the assimilation of their Indigenous culture into the rapidly growing population of the European settlers. This was problematic for preserving and respecting our Canadian ancestry and culture, which is likely a small part of why current Canadians are not knowledgeable of things such as the purpose of the totem pole. -
Threat of Colonization on totem poles
As the Europeans began taking over more and more of the Indigenous land, there became a threat to the existence of totem poles, as they were becoming less and less relevant to current society. These changes deeply impacted the Indigenous population by hindering their freedom of expression through totem poles, and by not being able to communicate between tribal groups and families. -
European Trade
When early settlers arrived in Northwestern Canada, they brought new materials, ideas, religions, and ways of life with them that interfered with the natural state of Canadian artistic values. This is an event that greatly impacted the appeal, construction, and meaning of these totem poles because the explorers that arrived from Europe extinguished their native culture, and did not take First Nations people's feelings into consideration when changing the way totem poles were represented. -
Indian Act
In short, the Indian Act was established by the government in 1876, and essentially disallowed most freedoms from the Indigenous peoples' lives, including education, rights to land, and natural resources. Unfortunately, this also included the banning of their celebration called a "potlatch", where totem poles are often completed and established in the ground. Due to this banning, little education about totem poles/First Nations is left for us today. -
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Potlatch ceremonies banned
During this entire time period, potlatch (and other Indigenous cultural celebrations/expressions) is not permitted by the government, or by the growing European settler population. The Europeans mistreated their culture, by bringing their current totem poles all over the world to be displayed in museums and parks. These settlers were even cutting down totem poles, since they were trying to convert Indigenous peoples from their current culture to a new European way of living. -
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Increased preservation efforts
In an attempt to realign Indigenous history and to value their culture, our government has taken invaluable steps to try and remedy the situation. One effort includes installing new poles for parks, museums, and exhibits for a thorough understanding and education about Indigenous art culture. As well, in the 1960's, potlatches were no longer banned, which helps to improve the relationship our First Nations have with the government. -
Remediation of Haisla totem pole
In 2006, the Haisla totem pole was remediated and restored to its original culture after it had been taken in 1929 to a Swedish museum. This was a huge step forward in our attempt at regaining historical knowledge about our ancestors that bestowed us with their profound wisdom and intelligence about the world, and how they shared information with each other back in their day. This remediation is important because now Canadians can appreciate the real message the pole is presenting. -
Legacy pole
In 2013, a commemorative totem pole was constructed to solidify the positive relationship between the government and the Haida community, which has been long improving. This now allows the Haida to freely express their artistic culture by constructing even more totem poles to continue to celebrate their heritage and upbringing. This impacts Canadian culture by providing current citizens with pieces of the past, so they can appreciate what came before them. -
Reconfiguration of old totem pole
Recently, a First Nation ancestor had noticed and took action upon a Haisla totem pole that was misrepresenting of their original culture. She was eventually granted permission to take that pole down and reconstruct it to better represent her story and her family's origins. This is a monumental step in totem pole history, as it marks the era of remediation and preservation of Indigenous peoples' culture, and we must appreciate it as we would with most other historical artifacts. -
Charles Joseph Totem Pole
On 3 May 2017, a special totem pole done by famous artist Charles Joseph was put up as memorial for all of the hardships endured by First Nations as a result of the residential school system. The pole served as a media through which Joseph could work towards recovery, as well as share his stuggle to others by the representation and stature that a totem pole provided. This is an important milestone in our country's display of culture, even though the residential schools were horrible.
