Alaska's Totem Poles
Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books
Published: May 1, 2004
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 94
ISBN-13: 9780882405858
Subjects: Travel; Pictorials; Indian wood-carving; Travel - United States; United States - Pacific - Alaska; Totem poles; Cultural Region/Pacific Northwest; Geographic Orientation/Alaska; Travel / United States; Travel / United States / General; History; Alaska; Indians of North America; Material culture
First sentence: As travelers leave Seattle and Puget Sound and head north toward Alaska, they sail up the Inside Passage, through deeply etched channels, bays, and fjords of coastal British Columbia and the Alaska Panhandle, also known as Southeast Alaska.
Description: Alaska is home to some of the world's oldest totem poles. Once craved to signify family and rank to others in the community, they now express the pride and identity of First Nations people. In Alaska's Totem Poles, Pat Kramer writes that they are North Americas' most unique contribution to the world of aboriginal art. She provides information on the history of totem poles, the legends that inspire them, and the customs and ceremonies that surround carving and erecting totem poles. Readers will also meet the carvers of past and present and learn where they can see famous totem poles.