Native American Totem Pole
The traditional type of Native American totem pole often serves as a visual
record of the history of a family or tribe. In some, specific events are captured
and other types of Native American totem pole feature a telling of a particular
tribe’s spiritual traditions, such as a creation story.
While often anthropologists and others who study the Native American totem
pole may disagree on the purpose of the totem pole or its roots in indigenous
culture – with some believing it to be a post European art and others
believing it to have a long history in native culture – one thing is
certainly true. The Native American totem pole captures the imagination with
its skillful carving and fascinating symbolism.
The Native American totem pole is not a part of all indigenous cultures,
as not all tribes lived in areas or in ways that made these items practical
or possible. This form of visual art is primarily the expression of native
peoples that lived in and around heavily forested areas, where they would
have access to the materials required for the making of the Native American
totem pole, and those who lived a less nomadic lifestyle than other tribes.
Anthropologists point out that as the European came to hold more land that
the indigenous peoples were forced to curtail their nomadic lifestyles and
stay on the lands allotted them, relating this to the development of this
art form.
The figures and forms used in the creation of a traditional type of Native
American totem pole are those that are familiar to the specific culture within
which it is made, which allows the pole to be read and to impart its particular
history or story. Thus, there may be varied symbolism between tribes, though
certain figures found on some types of Native American totem poles may have
a somewhat universal meaning among indigenous peoples.
This art continues today, with the Native American totem pole still in use
for recording family and tribe history and special events. Fascinating and
often haunting, the Native American totem pole is rich with symbolism and
meaning, both in a historic context and a modern one.
Joseph Paige © 2006
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