Magnificent and haunting, the tall cedar sculptures called totem poles have become a distinctive symbol of the native people of the Northwest Coast. The powerfu

"Writing a poem is like trying to describe a totemic column which passes right through and beyond the world. We see it, but its existence is elsewhere." --Stanl

This survey of totem poles from the Tlingit settlements of Alaska to the Kwakiutl villages of Vancouver Island examines the traditions that led to their creatio

Rising from a forest mist or soaring overhead in parks and museums, magnificent cedar totem poles have captured the attention and imagination of visitors to Was