ixn/.ws OF xoirrii j'Ac/ric ro.iNV 



Totem Poles 



The most St i-ikin<i ()l)j('ct is the ^rciit Ihiidii ( "aiioc 

 ill the (•(Mitci- of t he hall with its j)arty 

 Haida Canoe of Cjiilkat Iiulians cclchratiiij!; the rite 

 of the "potlatch." The potlatch is the 

 «>;r('at "ui\in^ cd'cniony," coininou to all the coast 

 trilx's. w hen iiulixidualsaiul families <2;la(llyiini)ov(Tish 

 th(Mns('l\('s that the dead ma>' he honored, the em- 

 l)lem of the clan exalted and social standin<i recog- 

 nized oi" increased, while underlying" the j)()tlatch as a 

 social function is a dvv]^ reli<i;i()us fervor in the wor- 

 shi)) of ancesti-y and connnunion with the dead. At 

 the stern of the canoe, which is represented as 

 a])])r()achinj2; the Ixnich, stands the chief or "medicine 

 man." who directs tlie cei'emon.w The canoe is a 

 hu«i;e duj»;()ut made from a sinj2;le tree, is 64 feet lon,u; 

 and 8 fcH^t wide and ca]:)al)le of carrying 40 men. 

 A^iainst the i)illars and walls of the hall ar(> many 

 house ))()sts and totem ]m\vs with their 

 ^irotescjue carvinji;s: the latter may rep- 

 resent either the coat of arms or family tree, or the\- 

 may illustrate some story or legend connected with 

 the family. The Haida Indians together with the 

 Tlingit are recognized as superior in art to the other 

 Indian tribes along the Northwest Coast of North 

 America. Th(^y are divided into a numl)er of 

 families with various crests for each family and 

 grouped into two main divisions, the Ravens and the 

 Eagles. The Tlingit are makers of the 

 famous Chilkat blankets, of which the 

 Museum possesses an exceptionally 

 fine collection. Among some of the other tribes 

 there is little wool weaving, the clothing consisting 

 of shreddiMl and softc^ned inner tree bark braided and 

 matt(Ml together. The Indians of this region are 

 l)reeminently a woodworking ])(M)])le, as is manifest 

 in the exhibit. Religious ceremoni(^s and the 

 wearing of masks gen(M'ally su])pos(Hl to 

 aid the shaman or ))riest in curing dis- 

 ease were customary among most of t he 

 trilx^s. The masks represented guardian s])irits and 

 by wearing them the shaman impersonated these 

 spirits. 



Chilkat 

 Blankets 



Religious 

 Ceremonies 



Pn 



Modern totem pole at 

 Wrangel, Alaska. Many 

 toicni polc-^arc huge ce- 

 dar carvings so old that 

 the Indians themselves 

 have forgotten their 

 meaning. 



