#potlaches

Tlingit robe.

Region: North-West Coast.

This Tlingit robe, made of goat’s wool and embellished with otter fur, would have been worn by high-ranking at their great feast, , or Potlaches. As with the blankets that they made, the Tlingit women created the robes following designs painted by the men on planks hewn from cedar wood. These deigns were very similar to those on the blankets, and this robe is decorated with representations of the bear. The mythical Bear Mother of the North-West and Canada gave birth to a child who could change into a bear. The brown bear was the totem of the Tlingit peoples, who believed that many animals were once humans who were so alarmed by the daylight released from a box by the mischievous Raven that they took refuge in the woods. These animals could transform themselves back into humans. And the ability of the bear to walk on in its hind legs gave substance to this belief. Tlingit legend tells of a woman who married a bear. The bear instructed her in the correct and respectful ways of killing him and the woman took these rituals back to her people.

Haida feast dish, c. late 1700s.

Region: British Columbia.

This ceremonial feast dish, carved in the shape of a dog, would have been used at the great Potlach ceremonies of the Haida. Potlach means ‘to give’, and these ceremonies involved the giving of gifts during feasting that was traditionally based on seal meat and salmon. These feasts served to establish and reinforce the relationships between tribal groups. The hosts would bestow gifts of value to demonstrate their status and guests would reciprocate. This gift-giving became highly competitive, as the different groups vied with each other with increasingly lavish items. These included food, blankets, masks, furs, wampum, etc., and would sometimes end with highly valuable goods being burned in a display of extravagance that was supposed to demonstrate hierarchical superiority. There are apocryphal stories of tons of whale oil and mounds of furs and blankets going up in smoke and in the nineteenth century Potlaches were banned because of the perceived wastefulness. The feasts were made legal again later in the century, when their purpose of reinforcing relationships between trial groups was more fully understood.

Haida eagle clan totem pole.

Region: British Columbia.

Totem poles have become inextricably linked to our perception of the Native American peoples. They are an important part of tribal life, serving to remind the people of their history and playing a central role in the great Potlach ceremonies. The carving on these poles are representations of mythic beings, usually animals, that had helped the tribe and given them power. They were also erected as memorials and mortuaries for the dead.

The Haida eagle clan are traditionally believed to have made the first of these symbolic pieces. There are various stories about the origins of the totem pole, and according to one legend, the outsider husband of a Haida woman saw from his canoe a vision of their village with many intriguing poles beneath the water. Later, with the help of his wife’s family, the man raised his first totem pole, made from a cedar log.

This example of a Haida totem pole is surmounted by an eagle, which is the tribal crest and represents thunder, lightning and rain. Other animals are intricately carved in brightly coloured sections, but the rear side of the totem pole always remains blank.