Totem poles of the West Coast First Nations in Canada

By teaghan1172

  • Arrival of the Europeans

    Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, peoples of the West Coast had begun to erect totem poles.These poles "showcase a nation’s, family’s or individual’s history and displays their rights to certain territories, songs, dances and other aspects of their culture" (Gadacz, 2017).

  • Indian Act is introduced

    It is introcued as a "...consolidation of previous colonial ordinances that aimed to eradicate First Nations culture in favour of assimilation into Euro-Canadian society" (Henderson, 2017).
  • Period: to

    Tourist industry begins to acknowledge totem poles

    Totem poles began to be seen as a representation of the Northwest Coast by tourists, who were sold miniature totem poles as souvenirs during their visit.

  • Federal government bans certain cultural practices in the Indian Act

    The government has as a goal to assimilate First Nations and attempts to do so by banning cultural practices such as the potlatch and by taking items (including totem poles) and sending them to collectors and museums. All of this is done in hopes that the people will adopt Christian traditions.

  • Europeans showed new materials to Indigenous peoples through trade in the 19th century

  • A totem pole is taken from the Haisla people

    This pole is later found in a Swedish museum.

  • "Anti-potlatch" ban imposed by federal government is lifted

  • Haisla people manage to retrieve their pole found in a Swedish museum

  • Haisla First Nation replace totem pole

    An old pole that was not made according to traditions is replaced by a new one that is carved and erected properly by the Haisla peoples themselves.

  • Paint is now commonly used

    Before, totem poles were carved from red cedar and were occasionally painted using mainly black, red, blue, and blue-green. Now, it is much more common to use paint to color the poles.

  • We believe that totem poles are a display of social hierarchy

    This belief is false, and was popularized by the cultural appropriation of totem poles by Europeans in the past.