Totem Poles and Indian House, Alaska
Collection: America
Title
Totem Poles and Indian House, Alaska
Subject
Totem poles
Description
On verso:
No. 297. TOTEM POLES AND INDIAN HOUSE, KASA-AN, ALASKA.
“Totem” is the name of a symbol of a tribe of American Indians or of an individual Indian The totem represents the protective spirit from whom the tribe derives its origin. It may be compared to the coat of arms of noble families. Indians had it tattooed on their bodies, and all the members of a totem tribe regard each other as blood relations, bound to support one another and forbidden to intermarry. Totemism was found among all the savage tribes of Africa, Australia and America, but nowhere else in the same peculiar shape to which it has developed among the natives of Alaska. The Alaskan Indian, whenever he is not engaged in providing the necessities of life, is eagerly working on a totem pole, consisting of a succession of carved representations of animals or faces one above the other, and when one pole is finished, the proud proprietor paints it as gaudily as possible, plants it near the house and starts at the next one.
A8523
Creator
[Ingersoll, T. W. (Truman Ward)]
Source
Canton Township Carnegie Library, Canton KS, USA
Publisher
Canton Township Carnegie Library, Canton KS, USA
Date
ca. 1890-1900
Rights
Format
image/jpeg
Language
English
Type
Stereographs
Identifier
297
Citation
[Ingersoll, T. W. (Truman Ward)], “Totem Poles and Indian House, Alaska,” Digital Canton, accessed April 20, 2024, https://canton.digitalsckls.info/item/599.
Original Format
Stereograph
Physical Dimensions
7 x 3.5 inches
Title
Totem Poles and Indian House, Alaska
Subject
Totem poles
Description
On verso:
No. 297. TOTEM POLES AND INDIAN HOUSE, KASA-AN, ALASKA.
“Totem” is the name of a symbol of a tribe of American Indians or of an individual Indian The totem represents the protective spirit from whom the tribe derives its origin. It may be compared to the coat of arms of noble families. Indians had it tattooed on their bodies, and all the members of a totem tribe regard each other as blood relations, bound to support one another and forbidden to intermarry. Totemism was found among all the savage tribes of Africa, Australia and America, but nowhere else in the same peculiar shape to which it has developed among the natives of Alaska. The Alaskan Indian, whenever he is not engaged in providing the necessities of life, is eagerly working on a totem pole, consisting of a succession of carved representations of animals or faces one above the other, and when one pole is finished, the proud proprietor paints it as gaudily as possible, plants it near the house and starts at the next one.
A8523
Creator
[Ingersoll, T. W. (Truman Ward)]
Source
Canton Township Carnegie Library, Canton KS, USA
Publisher
Canton Township Carnegie Library, Canton KS, USA
Date
ca. 1890-1900
Rights
Format
image/jpeg
Language
English
Type
Stereographs
Identifier
297
Citation
[Ingersoll, T. W. (Truman Ward)], “Totem Poles and Indian House, Alaska,” Digital Canton, accessed April 20, 2024, https://canton.digitalsckls.info/item/599.Original Format
Stereograph
Physical Dimensions
7 x 3.5 inches