Art of the Totem: Totem Poles of the Northwest Coastal Indians

Ellen Pilon is a library assistant in the Patrick Power Library at Saint
Mary’s University in Halifax.

First written for an American government publication in 1932, Marius Barbeau’s study of the totem poles of the Northwest Coastal Indians is now republished with revisions and added illustrations, some in colour. The 15 pages of text (for which there is a full-page index) discuss significance of the totem, making and erecting a pole, development of the art, technique and its evolution, and the origin of totem art. The totem is a “unique form of aboriginal art... [expressing] native personality and craftsmanship.” The figures on totems, although they may seem like pagan images, are actually symbols comparable to family crests, illustrating myths or tribal traditions. Many were monuments to the dead. Some were used structurally as inside house posts, house-front poles, or house-corner posts. “The totem pole came into fashion after 1830; its size, and the beauty of its figures were a means of publicly displaying wealth and status.” The growth and peak of the totem pole took place between 1840 and 1880.

Barbeau maintains that the totems can be seen to full advantage only in their original surroundings. The wealth of photographs shows this. The second half of the book is divided according to the different Northwest Coast tribes — Tlingit, Tsimshian, Haida, etc — with pictures only, no narrative, of characteristic totems of each group. Barbeau’s work is well researched, with good observations and thoughtful commentary on his findings. For example, he explores different arguments on the origin of totems, finally concluding that “free-standing poles were first carved by Tsimshian artists.” The book’s information and photographs are excellent for all ages — from those preparing a school assignment to those expanding their store of knowledge.