Replacing Settler Spaces: The Transformational Power of Indigenous Public Art
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Figure 1.
Kaagwaantaan (Eagle/Wolf) Pole by master carver Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Unangax̂) with apprentices William L. Burkhart Jr. (Tlingit), Lee Burkhart (Tlingit), and Merritt Johnson. From the bottom up, this pole depicts three significant crests: the Bear, Eagle, and Killer Whale. Atop the crests, a Kaagwaantaan clan member wears a Killer Whale clan hat. Crystal Worl (Deg Hit’an/Filipino/Tlingit) completed the mural honoring Tlingit civil rights activist Elizabeth Peratrovich Ḵaax̲gal.aat (1911–1958) in 2021. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer.
Figure 1.
Kaagwaantaan (Eagle/Wolf) Pole by master carver Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Unangax̂) with apprentices William L. Burkhart Jr. (Tlingit), Lee Burkhart (Tlingit), and Merritt Johnson. From the bottom up, this pole depicts three significant crests: the Bear, Eagle, and Killer Whale. Atop the crests, a Kaagwaantaan clan member wears a Killer Whale clan hat. Crystal Worl (Deg Hit’an/Filipino/Tlingit) completed the mural honoring Tlingit civil rights activist Elizabeth Peratrovich Ḵaax̲gal.aat (1911–1958) in 2021. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer.
Figure 2.
Cover of a 1906 Pacific Coast Steamship Company brochure advertising the “totem pole route”. Alaska State Library, Steamship Company Publications and Promotional Materials, ca. 1887-[ongoing], MS68-1-01-05-cover.
Figure 2.
Cover of a 1906 Pacific Coast Steamship Company brochure advertising the “totem pole route”. Alaska State Library, Steamship Company Publications and Promotional Materials, ca. 1887-[ongoing], MS68-1-01-05-cover.
Figure 3.
Willard R. Cox, Southeast Alaska, 1929. This painting, located in the Alaska State Capitol building, may have been commissioned by the Pacific Coast Steamship Company. This imagined scene is anchored by a steam ship at its center and features the Thunderbird House Post by Kwakwaka’wakw artist, Charlie James Yakuglas. At the time of this painting, James’ carved pole had been recently relocated to Stanley Park in Vancouver, BC. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer.
Figure 3.
Willard R. Cox, Southeast Alaska, 1929. This painting, located in the Alaska State Capitol building, may have been commissioned by the Pacific Coast Steamship Company. This imagined scene is anchored by a steam ship at its center and features the Thunderbird House Post by Kwakwaka’wakw artist, Charlie James Yakuglas. At the time of this painting, James’ carved pole had been recently relocated to Stanley Park in Vancouver, BC. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer.
Figure 4.
Elbridge W. Merrill, Totem Way at Sitka, 1906. The Haida pole in the foreground is one of a pair of house corner poles. It would have originally been located at an exterior corner of the Yaadaas clan house in Old Kasaan. Courtesy of National Park Service, Sitka National Historical Park; SITK 3822.
Figure 4.
Elbridge W. Merrill, Totem Way at Sitka, 1906. The Haida pole in the foreground is one of a pair of house corner poles. It would have originally been located at an exterior corner of the Yaadaas clan house in Old Kasaan. Courtesy of National Park Service, Sitka National Historical Park; SITK 3822.
Figure 5.
David R. Boxley Gyibaawm Laxha speaking at the Kootéeyaa Deiyí Dedication Ceremony, 22 April 2023. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer, with permission from David R. Boxley.
Figure 5.
David R. Boxley Gyibaawm Laxha speaking at the Kootéeyaa Deiyí Dedication Ceremony, 22 April 2023. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer, with permission from David R. Boxley.
Figure 6.
Metlakatla, Alaska, community members preparing to bless the recently raised Tsimshian pole on 22 April 2023. The crests depicted on the pole, from top to bottom, include Killer Whale with Grizzly Bear, Raven with Frog, Eagle with Beaver, and Wolf with Crane. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer, with permission from David R. Boxley.
Figure 6.
Metlakatla, Alaska, community members preparing to bless the recently raised Tsimshian pole on 22 April 2023. The crests depicted on the pole, from top to bottom, include Killer Whale with Grizzly Bear, Raven with Frog, Eagle with Beaver, and Wolf with Crane. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer, with permission from David R. Boxley.
Figure 7.
Stanley Park Totem Poles in their current location at Brockton Point. A replica of Kwakwaka’wakw artist Charlie James Yakuglas’ iconic Thunderbird House Post stands third from the right. It was carved in 1987 by Kwakwaka’wakw artist Tony Hunt. The original post is currently housed at the Museum of Vancouver. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer.
Figure 7.
Stanley Park Totem Poles in their current location at Brockton Point. A replica of Kwakwaka’wakw artist Charlie James Yakuglas’ iconic Thunderbird House Post stands third from the right. It was carved in 1987 by Kwakwaka’wakw artist Tony Hunt. The original post is currently housed at the Museum of Vancouver. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer.
Figure 8.
Squamish Chief Mathias Joe’s pole at Prospect Point, the highest point in Stanley Park. Photo by Jack Lindsay, c. 1940–1948. Image courtesy of Vancouver Archives.
Figure 8.
Squamish Chief Mathias Joe’s pole at Prospect Point, the highest point in Stanley Park. Photo by Jack Lindsay, c. 1940–1948. Image courtesy of Vancouver Archives.
Figure 9.
Susan Point (Musqueam), People Amongst the People: Male and Female Welcome Figures, 2008. Here, Point depicts the female figure wearing a woven robe. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer.
Figure 9.
Susan Point (Musqueam), People Amongst the People: Male and Female Welcome Figures, 2008. Here, Point depicts the female figure wearing a woven robe. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer.
Figure 10.
Susan Point (Musqueam), People Amongst the People: Grandparents and Grandchildren, 2008. The three grandmothers pictured here illustrate the matrilineal knowledge that passes from generation to generation. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer.
Figure 10.
Susan Point (Musqueam), People Amongst the People: Grandparents and Grandchildren, 2008. The three grandmothers pictured here illustrate the matrilineal knowledge that passes from generation to generation. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer.
Figure 11.
Susan Point (Musqueam), People Amongst the People: Salish Dancer and Whale, 2008. Salish weaving patterns adorn the crossbeam. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer.
Figure 11.
Susan Point (Musqueam), People Amongst the People: Salish Dancer and Whale, 2008. Salish weaving patterns adorn the crossbeam. Photograph by Megan A. Smetzer.
Figure 12.
Debra Sparrow θəliχʷəlʷət (Musqueam), Blanketing the City 1, 2018. Located on pillars supporting the Granville Street Bridge. Courtesy of the Vancouver Mural Festival.
Figure 12.
Debra Sparrow θəliχʷəlʷət (Musqueam), Blanketing the City 1, 2018. Located on pillars supporting the Granville Street Bridge. Courtesy of the Vancouver Mural Festival.
Figure 13.
Chief Janice George Chepximiya Siyam’ and Buddy Joseph Skwetsimeltxw (Squamish), Rescue, 2023. Photograph by Lori Phillips.
Figure 13.
Chief Janice George Chepximiya Siyam’ and Buddy Joseph Skwetsimeltxw (Squamish), Rescue, 2023. Photograph by Lori Phillips.
Figure 14.
Chief’s blanket. Made by Sp!aq!elthinoth. Worn by Chief Calpaymalt. Courtesy of UBC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada, A1720.
Figure 14.
Chief’s blanket. Made by Sp!aq!elthinoth. Worn by Chief Calpaymalt. Courtesy of UBC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada, A1720.
Figure 15.
Debra Sparrow θəliχʷəlʷət (Musqueam), Aftermath, 2023. Photograph by Lori Phillips.
Figure 15.
Debra Sparrow θəliχʷəlʷət (Musqueam), Aftermath, 2023. Photograph by Lori Phillips.
Figure 16.
Angela George qʷənat (Tsleil-Waututh), Wealth of the Land, 2023. Chief Janice George and Buddy Joseph (Squamish), Rescue. Photograph by Lori Phillips.
Figure 16.
Angela George qʷənat (Tsleil-Waututh), Wealth of the Land, 2023. Chief Janice George and Buddy Joseph (Squamish), Rescue. Photograph by Lori Phillips.
Figure 17.
Chief Joe Capilano and delegation of First Nations leaders, May 1908. Chief Capilano stands just left of center with a woollen blanket draped over his arm. Also visible, pinned to his chest, is a medal from his 1906 visit to England to petition King Edward to seek justice for his people. Image courtesy of North Vancouver Archives.
Figure 17.
Chief Joe Capilano and delegation of First Nations leaders, May 1908. Chief Capilano stands just left of center with a woollen blanket draped over his arm. Also visible, pinned to his chest, is a medal from his 1906 visit to England to petition King Edward to seek justice for his people. Image courtesy of North Vancouver Archives.
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