TOTEM POLES AT STALEY PARK

• KAKASO'LAS
  PEOPLE COME FROM FAR AWAY TO SEEK HER ADVICE
  Kwakwaka'wakwa carver Ellen Neel and her uncle Mungo Martin were among the first artists to achieve wide recognition for their totem poles commissioned by museums, cities, and art collectors. Neel was also the first woman to become a Northwest Coast carver. This pole was completed in 1955 for Woodward's Department Store.
  In memory of Neel's pioneering role in reaching at international audience through her art, the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology has loaned this pole to Stanley Park.

• THUNDERBIRD HOUSE POST
  CARVED HOUSE POSTS ARE USED IN TRADITIONAL FIRST
  Nations cedar houses to support the huge roof beams.
  This pole is a replica of a house post carved by Kwakwaka'wakw artist Charlie James in the early 1900s. Tony Hunt carved this replica in 1987 to replace the older pole now in the Vancouver Museum.
  James experimented with colors and techniques creating a bold new style that has influenced generations of artists including his step-son Mungo Martin and grand-daughter Ellen Neel. A pole by Ellen Neel stands to the left.
  Crizzly Bear holding a human

• CHIEF WAKAS POLE
  IN KWAKWAKA'WAKW (KWAKIUTL) CEREMONIES, CARVED
  staffs called talking sticks are held by people making important speeches on behalf of a chief. This pole represents the talking stick and characters in an Owikeno story belonging to Chief Wakas. The original pole was raised in front of Chief Wakas' house in Alert Bay in the 1890s. The raven's beak opened to form a ceremonial entrance to the house, while the raven's body was painted on the house front. Nimmpkish artist Doug Granmer, who has inherited Chief Wakas' crests, carved this new pole in 1897.

2007/10/01