native american indianstotem poles
The Haida, meaning The People, once were numbered at over 10,000. Theyoccupied the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Colombia. Their numbers were numerousand their life was prosperous. In 1774 there was the first European contact (Gunn) andthe Haida, unknowingly, let the lion out of its cage, they let white man enter theirterritory. The Europeans brought trade, but they also brought colonization. A word theIndians did not know would cause them such horror. Smallpox and many other epidemics ravaged the Haida clan and decimated their population to 6,500 (Gunn). The Haida hasgotten to as low as 588 clan members (Gunn), but are now slowly working their way up. The Haida, along with six other tribes that make up the Northwest Coast Pacific culturalunit, are known as the "Totem Pole Carving People" (Gunn). Totem poles are what we would refer to as monumental art. This definition givesno justice for the amazing beauty, spirituality, significance, and importance of the totempole to the Haida. There were different reasons for designing and erecting totem poles.The main types of poles were, house posts, house frontal poles, memorial poles, mortuarypoles, grave markers, and welcome figures. The ho
You canimagine what the village looked like with all of these large artistic poles everywhere. The figures onthe totem poles are not always those of well known everyday life. Most can be held in your hand or picked up. Knowledge is everything and the more people understand about the Native Americans themore they can come to accept them. Many stories were told to teach lessons, many were told for myths and legends and otherswere told from the imagination to amuse a crowd. They are as important as any type of artwork in the culture andare respected by all native americans. The Haida totem poles are only a small part of many significant artworks in thenative american religion. Each totem pole is unique in its own way and each has a story of its own to tell. They only take what they need and neverthrow anything away, everything can be useful in some way or another. The time process wasnot as big of a factor, but the skill and patience was still of great value to the tribe(Haplan). Gravemarkers were carvings placed where people were buried and usually represented theperson in some way, by family crest or by telling a story. There were wars, disputes, intermarriages, potlaches, and ceremonies shared by all ofthem. Thereforethe carving was what emphasized the sculpture with its careful grooves and etchings. Colors were difficult to producebecause the Haida had to use their natural resources to get colored pigments. Thecolor on totem poles became more prominent when the Haida started trading with theEuropeans.
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