TOTEM POLES

Totem poles are carved from cedar trees, painted and placed near the house or in the forest. The Tlingit made them:

• Tell a family story or legend
• Honor the dead
• Commemorate a birth
• Make fun of someone

More on Totem Poles below.

MEANING OF FIGURES

• Thunderbird - most powerful of all the spirits; it the personification of "chief."
• Wolf - revered as a good hunter and associated with the special spiritual necessary to become a good hunter.
• Killer Whale - legend says that whales could capture a canoe of people and drag it to an underwater village. Here people would be transformed into whales.
• Raven - A cultural hero of the Coast Indian peoples who had magical powers and could change himself into anything.
• Grizzly Bear - here it represents the clan of the people who made the totem pole. Attributed with many human-like qualities and much power.

HOW COLOR WAS MADE

• Red Iron oxide or red ochre clay
• Black Cedar and charcoal
• Blue-Green Copper or clay

  The three traditional colors are red, blue-green, and black. Paint was made from natural materials and mixed with salmon eggs