I.XDIAXS OF XORTH PACIFIC COAST 



13 



South Central Wing 

 INDIANS OF THE NORTH PACIFIC COAST 



North of Memorial Hall — that is, to the rear of 

 the Jesup statue — is the North Pacific Hall, where 

 Indians of are displayed collections illustrating 

 British the culture of the Indians of the north- 



Columbia west coast of America. These collections 

 and Alaska are arrari g ec l geographically so that in 

 passing from south to north through the hall the 

 visitor meets with the tribes in the same sequence 

 that he would in traveling up the west coast of 

 North America. 



The most striking object is the great Haida 



Canoe in the center of the hall. In it is a group 



tr a n ^ representing a party of Chilkat Indians 

 riaicia oanoe 



on their way to celebrate the rite of the 

 "potlatch." The potlatch is the great "giving cere- 

 mony," common to all the coast tribes, when indi- 

 viduals and families gladly impoverish themselves 

 that the dead may be honored, and social standing 

 of the clan or family recognized and increased. At 

 the stern of the canoe, which is represented as 

 approaching the beach, stands the chief or "medi- 

 cineman," who directs the ceremony. The canoe, a 

 huge dugout made from a single tree, is 64 % feet long 

 and 8 feet wide and capable of carrying 40 men. 



Against the pillars and walls of the hall are many 

 house posts and totem poles with their grotesque 

 Totem Poles carvin S s ; the latter may represent 

 either the coat of arms or family tree, 

 or they 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. They are divided into a number of 

 families with various crests for each family and 

 Chilkat grouped in two main divisions, the 



Blankets Ravens and the Eagles. The Tlingit 



are makers of the famous Chilkat blankets, of which 

 the Museum possesses an exceptionally fine collection. 



Totem pole at Wran- 

 gel, Alaska. At the 

 bottom is a beaver with 

 a frog under his chin; 

 above is a raven; and 

 above the raven a frog, 

 which is surmounted by 

 a human head. 



