native american indianstotem poles

A detailed Summary of native american indianstotem poles

The Haida, meaning The People, once were numbered at over 10,000. They

occupied the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Colombia. Their numbers were numerous

and their life was prosperous. In 1774 there was the first European contact (Gunn) and

the Haida, unknowingly, let the lion out of its cage, they let white man enter their

territory. The Europeans brought trade, but they also brought colonization. A word the

Indians did not know would cause them such horror. Smallpox and many other epidemics

ravaged the Haida clan and decimated their population to 6,500 (Gunn). The Haida has

gotten to as low as 588 clan members (Gunn), but are now slowly working their way up.

The Haida, along with six other tribes that make up the Northwest Coast Pacific cultural

unit, are known as the "Totem Pole Carving People" (Gunn).

Totem poles are what we would refer to as monumental art. This definition gives

no justice for the amazing beauty, spirituality, significance, and importance of the totem

pole to the Haida. There were different reasons for designing and erecting totem poles.

The main types of poles were, house posts, house frontal poles, memorial poles, mortuary

poles, grave markers, and welcome figures. The ho

should be respected and looked upon for guidance and knowledge. They are the original

law of this land we call America and somehow they are pushed around and forced to

Europeans referred to them as "grotesque" (Keithahn) when they first encountered them.

differently and often unjustly, yet they are the original Americans. Native Americans

because the Haida had to use their natural resources to get colored pigments. Therefore

To read a Haida totem pole you must understand the symbols and many legends

No matter how hard the rest of the world tries to make Native Americans

legends, little kids fantasize about them, and we can learn so much about the land and life

animals that everyone knows about and then there are many "creatures" mixed in that

Approximate Word count = 1590
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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