Very Large 19th Century North-Western Indian Style Carved Wood Totem Pole

Description

A very Large 19th Century North-Western Indian Style figural Carved Wood Totem Pole.
This very rare Pole measures 8" in … more A very Large 19th Century North-Western Indian Style figural Carved Wood Totem Pole.
This very rare Pole measures 8" in diameter and stands 7.5 feet tall. This is one the rare historic totem pole that survived the late 19th Century ban of totem poles. Nearly all totem-pole-making had ceased by 1901. Carving of monumental and mortuary poles continued in some, more remote villages as late as 1905; however, as the original sites were abandoned, the poles and timber homes were left to decay and vandalism. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, before the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978, the practice of Indigenous religion was outlawed, and traditional Indigenous cultural practices were also strongly discouraged by Christian missionaries. This included the carving of totem poles. Missionaries urged converts to cease production and destroy existing poles.
The pole was painted the sake of maintenance and durability. less