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Three Persons Along carved for Chief Ksim Xsaan of the Raven tribe by Axts'ip. When it was erected ca. 1860 it stood 40 ft tall. This pole was cut down in 1918 during the religious revival at Gitlaxt'aamiks. Before being cut up and repurposed it was sold to the Royal Ontario Museum where is it still on display. (Info. from: http://gingolx.ca/nisgaaculture/ancient_villages/villages.html)

Three Persons Along carved for Chief Ksim Xsaan of the Raven tribe by Axts'ip. When it was erected ca. 1860 it stood 40 ft tall. This pole was cut down in 1918 during the religious revival at Gitlaxt'aamiks. Before being cut up and repurposed it was sold to the Royal Ontario Museum where is it still on display. (Info. from: http://gingolx.ca/nisgaaculture/ancient_villages/villages.html)

Three Persons Along carved for Chief Ksim Xsaan of the Raven tribe by Axts'ip. When it was erected ca. 1860 it stood 40 ft tall. This pole was cut down in 1918 during the religious revival at Gitlaxt'aamiks. Before being cut up and repurposed it was sold to the Royal Ontario Museum where is it still on display.

Three Persons Along carved for Chief Ksim Xsaan of the Raven tribe by Axts'ip. When it was erected ca. 1860 it stood 40 ft tall. This pole was cut down in 1918 during the religious revival at Gitlaxt'aamiks. Before being cut up and repurposed it was sold to the Royal Ontario Museum where is it still on display. (Info. from: http://gingolx.ca/nisgaaculture/ancient_villages/villages.html)

Eagle on the Decayed Pole was carved for Chief Txas-diyee of the Eagle tribe by Txaa-kw'ihleen. When it was erected ca. 1870 it stood 50 ft tall. This pole was repatriated to the Nisga'a Nation and is on display at the Nisga'a Museum in Laxgalts'ap (Greenville).

This appears to be the Pole of the Whale, carved for Chief Hleek, laying on the ground before being cut into segments.

This looks like a segment of Pole of the Whale, carved for Chief Hleek. This image is attributable to Barbeau because he arrived in 1927 after the religious revival of 1918 when many of the poles in Gitlaxt'aamiks were destroyed.

Detail of Chief Johnson pole. The pole was commissioned by the Tongass people (sea lion people) and stood in the Centre of the community at Ketchikan Creek. The original pole stood from 1901 to 1982. It was recommissioned in 1989 by the Tongass and carved by Israel Shotridge. The pole tells the legend of Fog Woman and the creation of the salmon. It is a story about a young man (Raven) who took a liking to Fog Woman. He went to fog woman's father's house (chief of the Salmon) and told him he…

Detail of a section of a pole depicting a woman sitting in a boat.

Adelaide de Menil, in communication with Bill Reid, traveled the Northwest Coast from Vancouver Island to Southeast Alaska photographing the monumental art of Coastal First Nations. Many of the images she captured show totem poles, and architecture in the final stages of decay before returning to the forest. The title of these images reflect the date that they were taken, and the roll and frame number assigned by Ms. de Menil.

This is a replica of Chief Skedans' Mortuary Pole form the 1870s. It was carved by Haida artist Bill Reid in 1964.In the early 1920s, the construction of an Indian village was proposed for the area near Lumberman©s Arch in Stanley Park. The site was chosen because it was located on a massive shell midden, or cultural mound that was the result of many years of Coast Salish habitation. This large deposit of calcified shells covered an area 8 feet deep and spanning several acres. The original…

Detail of Chief Skedan's mortuary plaque. Mortuary poles, particularily Haida mortuary poles, had a cavity in the top which held a burial box inside. In order to accommodate the box, the cavity was generally cut into the wide end of the pole with the tapering end set into the ground. The box was hidden from view by a frontal board, painted and/or carved with a lineage crest, placed across the front. The shape and design of this board gave the appearance of a large chest.

Detail of one of the twin mortuary Pole in the southern Village of Cumshewa (hlqin7ul). At the base form is a human figure and below it is a supernatural snag in human form. There would be cylinders above the figures representing the number of potlatches.

Detail of one of the twin mortuary Pole in the southern Village of Cumshewa (hlqin7ul). At the base form is a human figure and below it is a supernatural snag in human form. There would be cylinders above the figures representing the number of potlatches.

Detail of one of the twin mortuary Pole in the southern Village of Cumshewa (hlqin7ul). At the base form is a human figure and below it is a supernatural snag in human form. There would be cylinders above the figures representing the number of potlatches.