Totem Poles: An Illustrated Guide

by Marjorie M. Halpin

The author describes the origin and place of totem poles in Native culture - as ancestral emblems, as expressions of wealth and power, as ceremonial objects, as mythological symbols, and as magnificent artistic works of the Pacific Northwest. She also suggests ways to interpret the motifs and symbols carved on the poles and shows how one can recognize the special features that reveal not only the skill of the carver but also his or her tribal origin.

Genres: Art, History, Anthropology

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Gareth Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the totem poles and related carvings of Canada’s northwest coast. The explanations are clear and allow viewers to interpret objects with confidence within an appropriate context. A useful list of further reading at the back points the way for those who wish a more detailed exploration of history and styles. The only improvement would have been more colour plates, but that would have pushed up the price, perhaps too much to reach a wide audience.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immensely helpful.

[Aimee]

A book from the nonfiction 700s (731.7 H)

[Ron Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suppose it doesn't make much difference, but I actually have the 1981 edition, which is from the University of British Columbia Press. Marjorie used to be the curator of ethnology at the UBC Museum of Anthropology and worked in the Anthropology Department there. I went with her to visit Hartley Bay in 1980 when she was doing research on naming systems there, which was eventually included in Margaret Seguin's (1984) The Tsimshian: Images of the Past, Views for the Present. This book is especially good on the cultural and historical aspects of totem poles. It also has a good section on "Suggestions for How To Look at Totem Poles." If you really just getting started in learning about totem poles, if you can find it, read Marius Barbeau (1984) Art of the Totem: Totem Poles of the Northwest Coastal Indians, which used to be everywhere, but it now out of print.