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One reason is that they had access to tall, straight trees. Totem poles were commemoratives for alliances, trades, heroic deeds, and mainly as displays of wealth (having one made didn't come cheap). The figures aren't always totemic, despite the name. There's a notable one that seems to bear the likeness of a Russian priest. It was erected after a chieftain felt he'd successfully defended his religion to a foreigner.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoA totem pole served as the emblem of a family or clan, its unity, the rights to which people in each clan were entitled, and as a reminder of each clan s link to a spirit-ancestor. Totem poles are an ancient tradition of the Indian tribes of the Pacific Northwest Coast--Washington state in the USA, British Columbia in Canada--and some of the Athabaskan tribes of southern Alaska. Contrary to popular belief, the Southwest Indians, Plains Indians, and Inuit never carved totem poles.
Originally totem poles were usually carved as part of a Potlatch ceremony, a great and complex feast with deep meaning to coastal First Nations. There was a period between about 1900 and 1950 when, for various reasons, only a few were carved. But even during that slow period, there were Native people who kept the tradition alive and well.Wiki User
∙ 14y agoTo honor the animals or whatever they carved on it
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Who were the original creators of totem poles?
the native Americans where the first one to make totem poles. i think?
Do Cherokee Indians make totem poles?
Yes, and only Northwetern Native American Tribes used or had Totem Poles.
How do native people make totem poles?
carve wood.
Why do American Indians make totem poles?
Native Americans had a very diverse culture. Arts and crafts were means of expressions for them. Totem poles were interesting to native american children as toy airplanes are to american kids. Paint, masks, and other accessories were used to decorate the totem pole. The totem pole was used in cultural holidays to celebrate their hertiage.
Did Comanche make totem poles?
NO! They didn't make totem poles!!!!!!
What clothing did the Algonquins wear at the totem pole celebration?
The Algonquins did NOT make Totem Poles.Totem Poles were erected only by Native Americans from the Northwest Coast of the United States and Canada.The Algonquins were an eastern tribe.
Why are totem poles special to native Americans?
Totem poles were only found in the Pacific Northwest. They are important to those tribes but not necessarily to any other ones. The Totem pole was carved as a history of the family who carved it or of the family to hired the carver to make them.
Did the NZ Purse tribe make totem poles?
No they did not make totem poles.
Why are there not many old totem poles?
Indians, or should i say native Americans, practiced the art of totem pole making for hundreds, if not thousands of years. when they encountered Europeans, however, the natives saw metal tools and it became easier to make the totem poles, allowing them to increase in size. The reason that there aren't that many "old" totem poles are due to that because they were make of wood, they decomposed over time, so we wouldn't be able to find for example a 1000 year totem. But i am almost sure that they would have been making smaller ones at the time.
Are there fake totem poles?
yes there are because people make totem poles and sell them for double the price
Did the Aztecs make totem poles?
yes they did they made the Totem poles were used as offerings for the gods that presinted rain
Did the Shawnees make totem poles?
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