The Totem Pole: An Intercultural History Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Totem Pole" is an excellent, lavishly illustrated history of totem poles as cultural objects in the native cultures of the Northwest Coast of North America (where they originated) and well beyond, their banning by the Canadian government in the 1880s, and their renaissance since the lifting of the ban in 1956 (though the Kwakwaka'wakw or Kwakiutl people continued to raise them despite the ban). It also goes far beyond their origin to show how totem poles were adopted by native peoples across North America as cultural symbols and tourist art and how they have become highly valued objects in museums (ranging from Canada's Museum of Civilization near Ottawa to others in New York City, London, Berlin, Madrid, and Tokyo) and parks (ranging from Vancouver, B.C., Canada's Stanley Park, to PepsiCo's Donald Kendall Sculpture Garden in Purchase, NY, to sites in Sweden and Japan, to give just a few examples).
While the book is somewhat academic in its style (the authors are an emeritus professor of Art of the North at the University of Alaska and a professor at Bard College's Graduate Center in New York City), it is easily accessible to the general reader, and its illustrations make it a delight even as a "coffee-table" book. Its seven appendices cover everything from a selected list of books about poles to a list of poles raised in and for native communities and a very extensive list of references (14 pp.) and help to make the book a useful reference, as well as a the main text makes it a delight to read.

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"Writing a poem is like trying to describe a totemic column which passes right through and beyond the world. We see it, but its existence is elsewhere." --Stanley Diamond, Totems--The Northwest Coast totem pole captivates the imagination. From the first descriptions of these tall carved monuments, totem poles have become central icons of the Northwest Coast region and symbols of its Native inhabitants. Although many of those who gaze at these carvings assume that they are ancient artifacts, the so-called totem pole is a relatively recent artistic development, one that has become immensely important to Northwest Coast people and has simultaneously gained a common place in popular culture from fashion to the funny pages.--The Totem Pole reconstructs the intercultural history of the art form in its myriad manifestations from the eighteenth century to the present. Aldona Jonaitis and Aaron Glass analyze the totem pole's continual transformation since Europeans first arrived on the scene, investigate its various functions in different contexts, and address the significant influence of colonialism on the proliferation and distribution of carved poles. The authors also describe their theories on the development of the art form: its spread from the Northwest Coast to world's fairs and global theme parks; its integration with the history of tourism and its transformation into a signifier of place; the role of governments, museums, and anthropologists in collecting and restoring poles; and the part that these carvings have continuously played in Native struggles for control of their cultures and their lands.--Short essays by scholars and artists, including Robert Davidson, Bill Holm, Richard Hunt, Nathan Jackson, Vickie Jensen, Andrea Laforet, Susan Point, Charlotte Townsend-Gault, Lyle Wilson, and Robin Wright, provide specific case studies of many of the topics discussed, directly illustrating the various relationships that people have with the totem pole.--Aldona Jonaitis is director emerita of the University of Alaska Museum of the North and professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. An art historian who has published widely on Native American art, she is the author of Art of the Northwest Coast and Looking North: Art from the University of Alaska Museum, among other titles. --Aaron Glass is an assistant professor at the Bard Graduate Center in New York City, where he teaches anthropology of art, museums, and material culture. He has published on visual art, media, and performance among First Nations on the Northwest Coast and has produced the documentary film In Search of the Hamat'sa: A Tale of Headhunting.

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