The Wolf and the Raven: Totem Poles of Southeastern Alaska

by Viola E. Garfield, Linn A. Forrest

The spectacular totem poles of British Columbia and Alaska, on which appear birds, animals, and unrecognizable creatures, are found nowhere else in the world. To save specimens of this now-abandoned American Indian craft and make them accessible to Alaska visitors, the United States Forest Service in 1938 began placing Tlingit and Haida totem poles in natural settings near Ketchikan, Wrangel, and Sitka. "The Wolf and the Raven" describes the poles, their place in the Indian culture of their day, the myths and legends they recount, and the history of the restoration program.

Genres: Art, Anthropology

161 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 1961

Reviews

[Charles]

The totem poles of the natives of British Columbia and Alaska are literally story poles in the sense that they are a physical representation of legends, myths and folklore. After many years of neglect, there was a concerted effort by the United States Forest Service starting in 1938 to preserve and restore the remaining poles. Unfortunately, for many of the poles, the preservation effort came too late.
The physical structure of some of the most prominent poles along with the legends they represent is presented here. The stories are what one would expect from a hunter people, they are based on the animals in their world such as the wolf and raven. There are many images of the higher quality poles, they are an impressive art form, for they are majestic. The various tribes and their styles are also described.
There is a depressing recounting on page 10 of a native carver that turned against the craft and his people. John Wallace was the son of a prominent carver who became a lay worker for the local church. He renounced a career in woodcarving, and he encouraged his people to cut down and destroy totem poles, personally destroying some of them. It is another unfortunate incident of a person finding one religion only to try to destroy the heritage of another.
One of the items we studied in elementary school was the totem poles in Alaska. I still remember seeing the pictures and hearing the legends, some of which no doubt appears in this book. It is fortunate that this aspect of native culture is being preserved.

[Mesoscope]

Garfield and Forest present a brief introduction to the so-called totem poles of Southeastern Alaska, with a survey of many of the prominent polls on display at several sites including Saxman, Ketchikan, Mud Bight, and Klawak. The authors give a helpful introduction to the nature and social context of the poles and the animal images or "crests" that they feature. They then analyze many specific poles and present as much as was known to them about the stories and histories upon which the poles were based.

Despite its strong writing and excellent qualities, the book was written in 1948 and it shows its age. The photos are not as clear as one would like, and the history of the relevant cultures has undergone significant milestones since it was written. In the 1960s many of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest returned to their roots and reinvigorated the dormant religious and artistic culture underlying the poles' creation and display. This largely had to do, one should note, with the gradual relaxation of disgraceful policies that had been in place in Alaska for decades, intended to drive the native cultures into oblivion.

So there is a new happy day in the history of marvelous culture that produced these fascinating objects, for which the interested reader will have to turn elsewhere.

[Leslie Ferrari]

This is more of a guide book to four totem parks in Southeastern Alaska. I purchased the book while touring the inside passage and read the portion for the park I visited. It was interesting to read about the totems in the other areas, but I mostly enjoyed the lore of the different figures depicted on the totems and how they were viewed by native Alaskans.

[Christopher]

Very thorough but also very dated. Some period specific comments in here about pole carving being a dying art which no longer apply, as well as judgement on the art evolving away from some 'pure' form. Yet despite this, I find the descriptions of the poles themselves and sometimes the stories behind them to be thorough.

[Thom Dunn]

Illos integrated with text rather than on separate plates. Includes map , location of tribes of the West Coast.

[Donna J.]

Excellent source of information on old totems and their history in Southeast Alaska.

[Edward Amato]

Great pictures and like as a reference. I did not like the map provided as a lot of the places named were not on map.

[Richard]

a nice book.