New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-02-14
5TILL THE TOTEM POLE TAKE SECOND PLACE'
aus Disputing Cyr the Character of the Territorial Erhbh the
ST. Louis Exposition.

e,,u Alaska be represented ~ The LOUISIANA
,--.bsse Exposition by totem poles ana lndilA
- or bv scroll sawed cottages. rotary Gomez
,u,r and Dawson doIar-in-iAe-sIot oie"ii'S
=, .,sgbfnes7 Shall That vast territory oe
ia nj. 10 the world as the home oi picturesque
,-,arsfttiors and simple minded aoorisines' OF
-. ,bo7e OF progress? The busters ~ LEta
- Dawson declare that the day 9i crl1-iy IN
alasla has passed. never 10 return. and some ~
U,.,r have asserted their Willingness 90 Kick
soar every totem pole in The territory and add
q 10 t5e couutrys sparse supply o. hreHo'i
- sinh a course be necessary 10 prove mat
f,,ese carved posts are no longer truly repre-
sentative On the other hand, Governor Brady
the Territory has been C0utcLLinE tlat mod
ern Alaska shouli be shown only incidentally
a. the fair. and that the old Alaska should be
Che main feature Of the exhibit there Coz erio7
Brady has in his day been missionary among
ne Indians. and the uode-. Alaskans blush
with shame over the obstinate almiraUon FOR
Tie oldtime relics.
But how snail Alaska be Distinguished at the
great Worlds Fair without the totem p1les7
These ugly and picturesque objects have come
70 be recognized as The sign manual or Alaska
ghereyer they are seen Picture the dsaq-
poiutuent OF a traveller who had jouueyed al
Ge way 20 that iuhospitable land II be found
20 totem pole LEFT 10 vary the monotCuous land
scape for him Equally great would be the dis
appointment OF q visitor 10 the St Louis Fair
on inspecting the Alaska exhibit he found only
mineral ores timed salmon and other like prod
Ecss OF imported industry.
A totem pole means 50 much To ask an
Alaskan Indian to sell or give away one Is like
ASKING a man FOR the tomb Of his ancestors or
tying 70 buy lis family tree II the matter OF
eenealogy the Alaskan Indians are different
erOm white men They 90 not have 70 buy on
paintings Of ancestors. fo- the monument Of
thelr genealogy stands In front OF their homes
where al may see Il Not OILY 90 the totem
pdas represent geneaIogy, but the history OF
great deeds. religion and other things IN fact
they are encyclopedias OF their kind. and every
Character upon them has q meaning. whether
Is bear which cTOuche5 upon the TOP. q bird
which stands with wings spread. as II about 70
" from the summit OF the human features
which have been cut out Of the wood. some OF
Aese memorial columns are so filed with de-
e'sns that the wonder is how they could ever
hive been executed AS matter OF fact. THIS
KIND OF decorating IS rapidly becoming a lost
al
Fhe few Indians who VII talk about the totem
pos say there are a dozen different kinds. the
NOS common being what can very properly be
sSllee ths family tree When the head OF a
AoOsehold decided TO bul6 a home he selected
enc Of the straishtcst trunks from the nearby
piet cut II into q suitable length. ranging
jon twenty TO Gfty feet Il was hauled to the
als OF NE dwelling. and. after perhaps years
tofA speni Il cutting the record on II, II was
sfeeaed with due ceremony in front OF the build
~ possibly used as one Or the posts supporting
Y The length OF tae pole determined the !rnpor-
ahoe and size OF The household II the family
nAa been distinguished by deeds Of ancestors
INC included chiefs AID other prominent me-. a
'os pole was required IA order to make a record
v AZ ms Some OF the houses. however. have
~ .o-ea one Tor the husbands family and one
Tor the wIfe'E
DC vel EeTsed are TIE Indians In totem lore