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The
totem poles shown in this page are carved with elbow adzes, curved
knives, drawknives, D adzes, scorps and a few chisels. They are made from either Cedar or
White Pine. With today’s wood preservatives many logs can be used for
totem poles. The most common for the West Coast Natives was cedar. Mainly
because of it’s availability, size, grain, and resistance to rot.
PAINTING:
The
painting is sparse to allow the natural wood to show predominantly. The
colors used are Black (originally from charcoal), red (originally from
ochre a mineral), White (originally from oyster shell), teal green/blue
(originally from copper ores). The modern paints used on the poles shown
here are water based acrylics. The original paints were mixed with the
juice from raw salmon eggs which were mashed in the mouth and spit out to
mix with the pigments. Some poles were not painted at all. Later on
several other colors showed up in carvings as they became available. They
were rust, a powder blue and a yellow. The very early original colors
were black and red.
The
poles are treated with a linseed-based preservative after painting.
MOUNTING:
Most
of the poles are mounted above ground. A piece of large angle iron with holes
drilled near the middle and the sides on one end can be driven into the
ground or cemented in. A small round concrete stepping-stone is used to
put under the pole the end of the pole is sealed with epoxy so no water
is absorbed. Lag bolts through the angle iron into the back of the pole
are usually sufficient to mount the pole. Some installations on concrete
floors require several right angle braces bolted to the floor and the
pole. Some on patios or inside the house are bolted to the wall with a bracket
that stands them out a foot or so.
FIGURE CHOICES/MEANING:
Traditional
figures are most commonly used. One break from the West coast tradition
is the use of elk and deer antlers on some of the poles along with a deer
or elk head motif. In a hunting community like North Idaho there are a
lot of sportsmen who would like to use the antlers of animals they
hunted. The use of these antlers makes a beautiful totem pole
characteristic of North Idaho or other hunting communities. The figures
used on totem poles are not meant to be sculptures that look exactly like
the animal or figure intended. However, they are a representation of
these animals and include many mythical creatures that do no exist in our
everyday world. The heads, bodies and appendages are not always in
proportion. Some include the mix of animal and human parts. A bear eating a salmon for example
honors the bear but also stands for the teacher. It was bear that taught
the people to catch salmon and pick berries. So whenever a family with a
teacher commissions a pole it is very likely a bear with salmon will be
included to represent the teacher.
The
eagle is common for a top animal with wings extended. In modern days the
eagle stands for the United States, our military, an experience someone
had watching eagles or is used just because the buyer likes eagles and
wants to honor them by including them on the pole.
The figures used on the poles are representative of
the ones used on the West coast Native American totem poles. Many are
carved because they have application to a large number of people and are
beautiful. Many times the figures are chosen to represent the buyer
either in his family history, professions, and life style. An example is
a family who has sons and husband in the military and the wife is a
teacher. For them I made a pole with an Eagle on top to represent the
military, a bear eating a salmon in the middle to represent the wife who
is a teacher and a cedar man face welcoming figure on the bottom. This
pole was 8 ½ feet long and was mounted on a patio. Another example also
included a teacher (therefore a bear eating a salmon) and a deer with
antlers to represent the men who hunted in the family and a welcoming
figure. On this pole it was also decided to put Raven (representing the trickster
and the one who released the moon and sun). The Raven made a nice
striking top piece with wings folded and a moon in his talons. This type
of figure can be used by almost anyone since raven has applications to us
all.
I
made a pole for my wife that showed an eagle on top a fish in the middle
and a killer whale on the bottom. The fish is her Native American symbol
for her birth month. The eagle represents two eagles that did a talon
lock in the Puget Sound while she was kayaking. The killer whale represents
the Orcas she saw on that same trip.
My
brother made one that represents the area where he lives and the animals
on his property. He included a Red tail hawk, a coyote, a rattlesnake,
and a roadrunner. He also included a moon mask and a sun god, which has
meaning to all of us.
So
a totem pole can represent may things to many people. It is true that the
whole story on a totem pole cannot be known without the owner or the
maker to tell the story. They are magnificent even without the whole
story.
Welcoming
figures are popular in modern times. Figures such as cedar man (the
spirit of the tree) or Tsonoqua (a giantress of the forest) were used on
Native American totem poles. Cedar man was also depicted sometimes as
first man while Tsonoqua also symbolized fertility and good luck. There
is a wealth of figures to be used from the West coast art and include but
are to limited to;
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Frog - symbol of wealth
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Eagle - a common clan symbol
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Beaver - shown eating stick and tail upturned-symbol of wealth
·
Bear - common in stories and legends-also a teacher symbol
·
Grizzly Bear - common in stories and myths
·
Tsonoqua - a giantress of the forest, shown with round mouth and
squinted eyes and pendulous breasts, eats children, dim witted, fertility
and welcoming figure, in legends, parents tell children-“be careful or
tsonoqua will get you!”
·
Wolf - a common clan symbol and appears in myths
·
Thunderbird - mythical bird whose wings were thunder and lightning
came out of his eyes - he also feasted on killer whales
·
Kholus - a relative of thunderbird who has great strength and
helped in setting poles for houses. He also is covered with white down he
can remove and become human.
·
Killer whale - a big part of the West Coast history and legends
·
Hawk
·
Raven - a clan symbol, a trickster, smart, released the sun and
moon, people felt they were descendants of Raven
·
Dirty Skin/Strong Man - human figure splitting seal with his hands
·
Dog Shark - West Coast animal
·
Watchman - has a tall hat, watches for enemies
·
Bear Cub - popular in West Coast mythology
·
Wolf Cub-popular in West Coast mythology
·
Sun God - symbol of the sun with rays emanating from a face with a
hooked nose
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Moon God - symbol of the moon
·
Serpent - usually a two headed mythological being, peace and
friendship symbols
·
Whaler - human figure with spear
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Fisherman - a fish or man holding fish
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Wealth - coppers which are a form of money
·
Owl
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Salmon - big part of West Coast culture
·
Oyster - exists in legends and myths
·
Clam - exists in legends and myths
·
-Symbols for stories/legends - series of classic figures based on
West Coast legends, i.e. fog woman
·
Mosquito
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Dragon fly
·
Human shapes - depicting family members, chiefs, etc
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Supernatural shapes - killer whales with holes in fins, others
related to stories, etc
Some
modern symbols I have added to the list include:
·
Deer (with antlers)
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Elk (with antlers)
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Coyote
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Golf bird - for modern day golfers. A bird with a tee for a beak,
pennants for ears eyes from a double headed golf club, sand traps and greens
for cheeks, golf shoe spikes for bottom border, unique.
Bear
eating a salmon
Eagle
with partially folded wings
 
 
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