INDIANS OF NORTH 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 
eer of Hall, where are displayed collections 
ae and lllustrating the culture of the Indians 
Alaska of the northwest coast of America. 
These collections are arranged geo- 
graphically 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 being constructed a group represent- 
ing a party of Chilkat Indians on the way to celebrate 
the rite of the ‘“‘potlatch.”” The potlatch is the 
great “‘giving ceremony,” common to all the coast 
tribes when individuals and families gladly im- 
poverish 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 “‘medicineman,”’ who directs the ceremony. 
The canoe is a huge dugout made from a single tree, 
is 641 feet long and 8 feet wide and capable of carry- 
ing 40 men. 
Against the pillars and walls of the hall are many 
house posts and totem poles with their 
grotesque carvings; the latter may rep- 
resent 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 fam- 
ilies with various crests for each family and grouped 
in two main divisions, the Ravens and 
Chilkat oe pee Nise : 
Bisntkets the Eagles. The Tlingit are makers of 
the famous Chilkat blankets, of which 
the Museum possesses an exceptionally fine collection. 
Haida Canoe 
Totem Poles 
Totem pole at Wrangel, 
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. 
