Question

Help! Medal and Fan!

Answer 1

Why did a potlatch depend on the fur trade?
Furs were traded for the logs of red cedar used to create the totem pole.
The fur trade was the only way that families could make enough acquaintances to attend the celebration.
It was very expensive to construct and raise a totem pole.

Answer 2

Throughout history, people have used symbols to express their beliefs and values. Symbols are a form of communicating meaning that extends beyond the spoken word. Those who did not have written language relied heavily on symbols in their cultures, and the totem pole is no exception.

However, the use of totems, or symbolic carvings, dates back to ancient times and has been found on several continents. The totem pole evolved from simple carvings of Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest coastal regions of British Columbia in Canada and Alaska in the United States. The term totem refers to the practice of using carvings of animals or mythological beings to represent a relationship or an aspect of a person. The animals and beings had recognized qualities that could be seen in others. For example, the bear represents strength and courage. If a person had a totem of a bear, then it meant that he or she was regarded as having the bear's positive qualities of strength and courage.

Totem poles are a series of such symbols that are carved from a single log of red cedar. Each part of the pole was carved to convey a message. The top portion represented the family's clan or kinship, in the way that a coat-of-arms functioned in Europe. Like crests, these carvings were most commonly one of the following: raven, thunderbird, eagle, bear, beaver, whale, or frog. Totems were also used to tell stories about the family and its members, or the main elements of a myth.

The totem poles were a way of passing down the history of a family or tribe. The process of constructing a totem pole required tremendous effort, from finding and acquiring the log to planning and designing the elements, and then inserting the pole into the ground. The raising of a pole was a ceremony that could involve hundreds or even a few thousand people. Such an occasion was a celebration that attracted visitors who usually received elaborate gifts for attending. The ceremony, called a potlatch, required tremendous wealth from the fur trade. Families spent years acquiring the resources needed for their totem poles.

Because they were made of wood, the life of totem poles did not extend beyond 60 years. This created difficulties in tracing the origin of the totem to an exact date. It has been commonly accepted that the elaborately carved totems could not have existed before European tools, such as adzes and curved knives, were readily available in the 1800s. The earliest poles were painted using dyes from natural materials in the surrounding areas. Later poles were painted using more expensive materials obtained through trade. By the end of the nineteenth century, the carving of these monumental posts ceased when the Canadian government made the pole-raising ceremonies illegal. Then, in 1951, the anti-potlatch law was repealed, and tribes began again to make and erect these family monuments.

In the early twentieth century, the delicate nature of the totem poles and their importance to North American history and culture were recognized. The traditions and artistic heritage have also been preserved, in part, through the efforts of a famous Canadian painter and writer, Emily Carr. She was inspired by totem poles and the Native American culture in 1907, and her work has been a way of documenting and understanding totem poles and their meaning to the tribes. Museums and parks have since been established to preserve totem poles, and people throughout the world visit to view and understand more about this important aspect of Native American culture.