Tales Of The Totem Poles -- Traditional Native American Arts, Once Threatened, Now Flourish With A New Generation

Rising above the banks of Beaver Lake in Issaquah, five faces stare silently from a mast of red cedar. The 42-foot carved pole with a soaring eagle at its crown stands in a small clearing of fir trees at Beaver Lake Park. On this pole, carver David Boxley has recorded stories that were once passed down from generation to generation. The totem pole tells the stories of the Northwest Tsimshian people, Boxley's tribe, originally from Vancouver, B.C.

The pole is one of several art works in King County that tell remarkable legends and celebrate traditional Native American art forms, some of which were once in jeopardy of being lost forever.

"In some places no totem poles were carved for many, many years. It came back with the revival of native culture," said Bill Holm, professor emeritus of Native American art at the University of Washington.

Pressured to abandon old ways

When he was a boy growing up in Alaska, Boxley never heard the stories. He never learned how to dance or carve. No one taught him.

The silencing of his heritage began with his great-grandparents, who were originally from northern B.C. From the 1880s until 1951, it was illegal to hold a potlatch in Canada, and since a totem pole could not be raised without such a ceremony, the number of carvings decreased.

At the same time, missionaries converted his great-grandparents to Christianity and told the indigenous tribes to cut down their totem poles and burn them. When his great-grandparents and other village members moved in 1887 to Metlakatla on Annette Island, Alaska, the missionaries there also encouraged them to give up their cultural ways.

"The people were made to feel ashamed" of their traditions, said Holm.

Boxley's mother and many in her generation attended a government-run boarding school in Alaska, where she was even forbidden to speak Shim-algyak, her tribal language.

"That generation basically grew up without the culture, and a lot of people in my generation have tried really hard to revive it," Boxley said. Preserving traditions

Traditionally, the knowledge of totem pole carving was passed down from uncle to nephew.

"Two hundred years ago if I wanted to be a carver, that would have already been decided by my mother . . . You go apprentice with your uncle at puberty and you live with him until you were a man," said Israel Shotridge, a totem pole carver from the Tlingit tribe.

Even though some native communities kept the craft alive, soon there were only a few carvers around to hand down the craft.

In the '60s, it became acceptable to be an Indian artist, Holm said. Many delved into books and historical accounts to find their own history. Boxley, for instance, was teaching high school in Seattle in the 1980s when he first became interested in carving. Using his background in drawing, he taught himself and carved 6- to 18-inch scale models of totem poles he saw in old photos. He also went to museums to study past works and found ancient stories by reading historical and anthropological accounts.

When his grandmother died, Boxley carved his first pole in her memory. A few years later, he gave his first potlatch in Metlakatla and raised a 24-foot totem pole to thank his grandparents for raising him. In 1990, the King County Arts Commission asked Boxley to carve two totem poles at Beaver Lake Park. Last month, a new Snoqualmie Tribe house post was installed nearby. The post replaces a carving that Issaquah High School football players had uprooted from the park and burned in September 1997. As part of their court-ordered community service, the students helped artist David Horsley sand the new post.

After 20 years of carving, Boxley has earned national renown as an artist - recently one of his poles was raised at Walt Disney World's Epcot center. He leads a native-dance group that performs throughout the country and he has taught his two teenage sons to carve, dance and sing, as well.

Boxley is now working on a 7-foot pole for the Alaska Native Heritage Cultural Center in Anchorage. Working in the workshop at his house in Kingston, Kitsap County, he's carved the figure of a shaman with a bear-claw headdress holding a rattle and a fan of feathers. It refers to the legend of a great shaman who traveled to the village of ghosts and brought the spirits of the dead back into the living world. ------------------------------- If you go

If you're interested in seeing totem poles up close, here are a few to visit:

Tsimshian Totem Poles at Beaver Lake Park in Issaquah. Carved by David Boxley, the eagle totem pole, in particular, tells the stories of the Tsimshian people.

From eastbound Interstate 90, take Exit 17 (Front Street/Lake Sammamish Parkway) and head north on Lake Sammamish Parkway Southeast. Turn right on Issaquah-Fall City Road; where the road turns right, continue straight on Issaquah-Pine Lake Road. Turn right on Southeast 32nd Way and then left on 244th Avenue Southeast. Go past the first park entrance and turn right on Southeast 24th Street. The park entrance will be on your right. The totem poles are located east of the parking lot near the lake shore. For more information, call King County Parks and Recreation at 206-296-2964.

Nuu-chah-nulth Totem Pole at Tillicum Village on Blake Island. Joe and George David carved the 30-foot totem pole in honor of their parents, the first resident artists at Tillicum Village. Charter-boat fares (without the Tillicum Village dinner) to Blake Island are $29.50 for adults, $26.55 for seniors and $13 for children ages 5 to 12. Reservations required. Leaves daily from Pier 55/56 on the Seattle waterfront. 206-443-1244.

Tlingit Totem Pole at Pioneer Square in Seattle. The 50-foot pole is a replica of the original Tlingit totem pole, taken from the village of Tongass in Alaska by vacationing Seattle businessmen in 1899. Located on First Avenue South near the intersection of Yesler Way and James Street in downtown Seattle.

Totem Poles at Victor Steinbrueck Park at Pike Place Market in Seattle. The two 50-foot memorial poles - one is Haida in design - are dedicated to Seattle architect Victor Steinbrueck. Located at the intersection of Pike Place and Virginia Street in downtown Seattle.