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RESTORATION OF TOTEM-POLES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 
By Harlan I. Smith 
The writer spent the summer at Kitwanga, B.C., superintending the 
preservation of the Indian totem-poles along Skeena river. This work 
was commenced in 1925 under the direction of a committee consisting of 
Dr. D. C. Scott, Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, Mr. 
Charles Camsell, Deputy Minister of Mines, Mr. J. B. Harkin, Commis- 
sioner of Canadian National Parks, Mr. E. Sapir and Mr. C. M. Barbeau, 
of the Museum staff; and the same committee directed the work in 1926, 
except that Mr. Sapir was replaced by his successor as Chief of the Division 
of Anthropology, Mr. D. Jenness. The Department of Indian Affairs 
defrayed all the running expenses, and the Canadian National railways 
co-operated by supplying considerable quantities of material free of charge 
and by placing at the writer’s disposal the services of a special engineer, 
Mr. T. B. Campbell. 
The initial step was to gain the goodwill and consent of the Indian 
owners of the poles. This was not easy, for they were unfavourably 
disposed toward white men in general, and particularly toward Govern- 
ment officials. There were many grievances they could cite, some no 
doubt real, and some imaginary. The white men had settled on their 
land and were pushing the Indians more and more to the wall; they had 
built canneries on the coast that were destroying all the fish; they were 
cutting all the best timber in the country so that within a few years none 
would remain for the Indian; they sold whisky in Government liquor 
stores and put the Indians in jail when they drank it. A few years ago, 
they had prohibited the erection of totem-poles; why did they wish now 
to preserve them? Much tact and patience were necessary to answer 
these and other objections the Indians raised to any interference with their 
poles, but in the end most of the difficulties were happily overcome. 
The engineering work progressed favourably under the able direction 
of Mr. Campbell. Poles that had decayed at their bases (and they were 
in the majority), were cut off at ground-level and bolted to new, well- 
seasoned bases. The fresh portions were then creosoted, and the older 
parts of the poles treated with linseed oil, since paint cannot be applied 
satisfactorily over a creosoted surface. All the original poles had been 
painted, but the colours were almost obliterated through exposure to the 
weather. They were repainted on the ground, and re-erected in a cement 
setting capped with plastic gum that reached slightly above the ground- 
level to prevent the seepage of water between the wood and the cement. 
The lowering and raising of each pole was accomplished with an A-frame 
and a winch. 
The repainting presented the greatest difficulty. To apply the 
colours in conformity with ideas derived from European technique would 
have destroyed the aboriginal character of the poles, and produced a 
hybrid art. If restored at all the colours should conform to those originally 
painted on the poles. In many cases the oldest natives alone retained any 
memory of their former appearance, and even they could reach agreement 
only after long discussions and arguments. Another problem arose in 
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