Native America

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Narrator

In the Pacific Northwest, memories and ties that bind are embodied in one of Native America's most iconic structures, totem poles. (tribal chanting) Like wampum belts, totem poles record the history of war, kinship, and leaders. (tribal chanting) But totem poles are often misunderstood. You know the saying low man on the totem pole, doesn't really equate at all. They're just about all as equally as important as the next guy, and you know the guy on the bottom's supporting everything else above him. So, it actually seems a little backwards. -

Narrator

The power of the pole comes from the Cedar tree. Cedar is central to the lives of the native peoples of the Northwest. It is used to make clothing, storage chests, and ceremonial masks. For Kwakwaka'wakw carvers, Alan Hunt and Beau Dick, cedar is a portal to the past. There is a certain relationship that our people have with the Cedar tree. (hammer banging) It reconnects us with our ancestors, with our story, with our identity, and it's just really sacred to us. (scraping wood) Each grain is a year and you become sensitized to it the more you work it. You feel it cutting through each year in time. My grandfather did that. My great-grandfather did that. My great-great-great-grandfather did that. They all did it. I'm following their footsteps. And that's really personal and we share that. We are following what was provided by our ancestors and the relationship that they had with the Creator.