- [Narrator] In the
Pacific Northwest,
memories and ties that
bind are embodied in one
of Native America's most
iconic structures, totem poles.
(tribal chanting)
Like wampum belts, totem
poles record the history
of war, kinship, and leaders.
(tribal chanting)
But totem poles are
often misunderstood.
- You know the saying low
man on the totem pole,
doesn't really equate at all.
They're just about all
as equally as important
as the next guy, and you
know the guy on the bottom's
supporting everything
else above him.
So, it actually seems
a little backwards.
- [Narrator] The
power of the pole
comes from the Cedar tree.
Cedar is central to the lives
of the native peoples
of the Northwest.
It is used to make clothing,
storage chests, and
ceremonial masks.
For Kwakwaka'wakw carvers,
Alan Hunt and Beau Dick,
cedar is a portal to the past.
- There is a
certain relationship
that our people have
with the Cedar tree.
(hammer banging)
It reconnects us with our
ancestors, with our story,
with our identity, and it's
just really sacred to us.
(scraping wood)
Each grain is a
year and you become
sensitized to it the
more you work it.
You feel it cutting
through each year in time.
My grandfather did that.
My great-grandfather did that.
My great-great-great-grandfather
did that.
They all did it.
I'm following their footsteps.
And that's really personal
and we share that.
We are following what was
provided by our ancestors
and the relationship that
they had with the Creator.
