British Columbia Room Totem Poles Heritage Property Plaque, 2020.
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Original JPG File7350 × 4650 pixels (34.18 MP) 62.2 cm × 39.4 cm @ 300 PPI 3.9 MB |
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Resource ID
8191
Access
Open
Address
100 Front St W, Toronto, ON M5J 1E3
Date of Creation
2020
Historical Themes
Architectural Heritage, Indigenous Heritage, Law and Justice, Visual Arts
Program Category
Historical Plaques
Time Period
Pre-colonization, 1615-1793, 1794-1834, 1835-1899, 1900-1953, 1954-1998
Caption
British Columbia Room Totem Poles Heritage Property Plaque, 2020.
Description
This room contains eight totem poles designed by artist Arthur Price (1918–2008) in 1958. Totem poles are specific to several Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations. Some of the earliest carving communities are the Haida, Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuxalk, Tlingit, and Tsimshian. The carvings commemorate ancestors, show lineage, define rights, and depict notable events. Totem poles and Canada have a complicated history. “Totem” is derived from an Anishinaabemowin word that has become commonly used in place of the many local Indigenous terms for the carvings. Between 1885 and 1951, federal laws banned Pacific Northwest Coast communities from gathering and raising totem poles. During this time it became common for non-Indigenous artists, such as Price, to create art in their style — a practice now widely recognized to be culturally insensitive. These totem poles are reinterpretations of oral traditions and historic events. Notable Northwest Coast carvers include Charles Edenshaw (c. 1839–1920), Nakapankam (Mungo Martin, 1879–1962), and Iljuwas (Bill Reid, 1920–1998).