Totem Poles Research Paper

For my totem pole, I am picking animals that are like me. The animals are supposed to be like me or if they mean a lesson to me. The essay I'm writing is inspired by book Touching Spirit Bear. In the book Cole makes a totem pole referring to himself or a lesson that represents an animal. A totem pole is a lot that has carvings in it to represent things. I made a totem pole because I want something to represent something of who I am.

People believe that totems originated around the Northwest Pacific Coast where Native Americans had specific rules and traditions about how they were made and used. Although no one knows for sure how long the Native Americans have been living in the North America region, it is known that their culture is very much centered around their spiritual beliefs as individual families and clans. Despite the common belief that totem poles represent Native American gods, in many tribes they were used to represent the beliefs and traits of the family who owned it.

The Gwaii Haanas Totem Poles represent and commemorate ancestry, histories, people, and or events. Each totem pole is designed differently with beings or crest animals. These markings show a family lineage and the rights and privileges that each family held during the time they lived in. Some totem poles honoured a specific event or person, and others are visual representation of kinship. These totem poles don’t really tell stories, they are documents of how each family lived or what they did. Totem poles were first brought up by the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest. During the First Nations they had what was called memorial or commemorative poles. These poles were often created, by their successor,

Totem poles are monuments created by First Nations of the Pacific Northwest to represent and commemorate ancestry, histories, people, or events. Totem poles are typically created out of red cedar, a malleable wood relatively abundant in the Pacific Northwest, and would be erected to be visible within a community.

Totem poles are ceremonial statues that were carved by many of the tribes in the Pacific Northwest. The animals and figures on the totem poles represent the history of the family that lived in that house. The figures on the totems had specific meaning, and told of the family's heritage, power, and place in the

In a reading done in class, “Farmers of the Woodlands,” written by Peter Nabokov and Dean Snow, there is discussion of the religious and spiritual beliefs of the people who lived in the Eastern Woodlands. For the Penobscot bands, they had the spiritual belief of totems. These totems were animals. They believed the totems were the ancestors to the people of the band. These totems linked them to the lands they lived, hunted, and fished

Indeed, the tiger behaviors are also quite extraordinary. The tiger in the story acted more like a man, from Pi’s description; Richard Parker is a name of the hunter who caught him, because the mistake of transportation’s work, the tiger’s name exchanged with the name of hunter. Thus, Richard Parker got a man’s name. In the story, Richard Parker used ‘him’ instead of ‘it’, proved the tiger’s personification. Further more, he expressed excessive endures for Pi. He ate the animals and a blind man except Pi. These also can make people re-examine the role of Bengal tiger as well. In the third part, as the only survivor of ship of Pi, he told his all experience on the ocean with Bengal tiger but Japanese Ministry of Transport didn’t believe the story. Then he told another story, the four animals became four people. He described sailor’s broken leg, the ferocious of cook, the kind-hearted mother, and the instinct of Pi. The plot in the second story is correspond to the first story very well. From his state of second story, the research also found the connection with the two story, “So the Taiwanese sailor is the zebra, his mother is the orangutan, the cook is…the hyena? Which mean he is the tiger!”[Chpater-99]

Standing in silence, gazing up at the magnificent Totem Poles I was thankful for the chilly, misty day. The moody weather served to keep the crowds away, and I found myself alone amongst the poles at Brockton Point. Easily one of our city’s most frequented tourist attractions, it is extremely unusual to be standing alone amongst these magnificent, historical pieces. Masterfully crafted, each intricate pole tells a unique and compelling story. Captivated, I took my time and carefully studied the poles.

Totems hold great significance as they represent connections with the land, the Dreamtime and ancestors.

Ultimately, the totem pole is symbolic in the story because it represents the Indigenous people in Canada. In King’s short story, the museum workers are constantly trying to remove the totem pole from the museum as Walter states that, “” the totem pole is not part of the show, and we need to move it someplace else”” (King 14). This quote accurately demonstrates the controlling nature of the museum workers because they attempt to remove the totem pole numerous times, but each time is as unsuccessful as the last. This correlates to Canadian history with the settlers trying to eliminate the Indigenous people in Canadian Society which was also unsuccessful. Additionally, another example that proves the controlling nature of the workers is witnessed when Walter attempts to find the owner of the totem pole instead of just leaving it in the show. Considering this, the whole notion of ownership is very different in Indigenous and non–Indigenous cultures. Indigenous culture believes that everything is to be shared and no one is an owner of anything. This concept is complete and total opposite in non-Indigenous culture as everything belongs to someone.

The Tlingit Community House is an example of the totem of Tlingit (Frank, 2014). A symbolic of animal form that is laid out in a two-dimensional abstract pattern, with an extensive gently slanted roof, attractively painted façade (Frank, 2014). The flat surfaces of the Tlingit Community House show geometric shapes of beavers, bears, also whales, and ravens. Furthermore, the totem pole in the center contains stacked images that help a family are a clan to reminisce about their history back to mythological periods (Frank, 2014). Also, the Tlingit community house is characteristic of the art and style of that region (Frank, 2014). However, a totem is an object such as an animal or plant that operates as a symbol of a family or tribe (Frank,

To warm the teepee up during the cold months of traveling, the fire pit was also useful for cooking. First Nations are known for their beautiful totem pole that is hand crafted and carved by First Nations. The pole of the totem pole is made out of red cedar. Totem poles were first made for telling stories and display animals and family ancestors. There are six main different types of totem poles, each totem pole is a representation of family history. Every totem pole has a unique story to it and is most likely to be one of the most recognizable cultural symbols. They would all go to the ceremony lodge or also known as the sweat lodge. There will be one person who is responsible for keeping the fire pit on and putting the hot stones in the center of the ceremony. These ceremonies lodge are mainly for spiritual cleanliness and healing. At the start of the ceremony, everybody would say their prayers to God or the Creator. During the ceremony everybody gets out the lodge and then goes back in to prevent health hazard. When the ceremony is over and everybody said their wishes a feast would be

The word totem derives from the Algonquian word “odoodem” meaning kinship group. You can see how that represents a totem pole well because a ceremony for a new pole is watched by hundreds of tribe members. More than just beautiful carvings, totem poles represent myths, legends, and honourable stories of families or tribes.

The poem, The Tyger, contrasts innocence and experience, and good and evil. The description of the tiger in the poem is as a destructive, horrid creature. The original drawing on the poem shows a smiling, cuddly tiger which is quite the contrast to the tiger described in the poem. This picture might suggest a misunderstanding of the tiger and perhaps the fears that arouse from the poem are unjustified. This poem contrasts the tiger with a lamb which often symbolizes innocence, Jesus, and good. The tiger is perceived as evil or demonic. Blake suggest that the lamb and the tiger have the same creator and in a way states that the tiger might also have the ability to have the benign characteristics of the lamb. The tiger initially appears as a beautiful image but as the poem progresses, it explores a perfectively beautiful yet destructive symbol that represents the presence of evil in the world. In the poem, Blake writes: " What immortal hand or eye, / Could frame thy fearful symmetry (4-5)." It is hard to determine if the tiger is solely evil or good.

According to Blake this creature has a special "inner" source of energy which distinguishes its existence from the cold and dark world of inanimate things (Blake 3). There is also an essence of the devil in the tiger. William Blake points this out by using words like furnace and just by him picking a tiger. There are many other violent predators out in the jungle but he chose the tiger because of its bright orange and black. When it runs it looks like a fireball. In line twenty of "The Tyger," William Blake says, "Did He who make the lamb make thee?" (Blake 539). What he is wondering is if he made such an innocent creature like the lamb how could he make a beast like the tiger?