With every chisel strike, Haida carver TJ Young brought history to life with the 360-degree totem pole standing at the Sealaska Heritage Square 香蕉视频直播� a towering testament to culture, storytelling, and resilience in the heart of downtown Juneau.
Named the Sealaska Cultural Values Totem Pole, this fully carved piece honours the rich traditions of southeast Alaska香蕉视频直播檚 three tribes 香蕉视频直播� Ling铆t, Haida, and Tsimshian. It is an impressive 22 feet tall and four feet wide; its scale and intricate details make it a rare sight of craftsmanship.
香蕉视频直播淭here are a few small, single-figure poles carved all the way around. This might be the largest 360-degree pole,香蕉视频直播� said Young.
Young spearheaded a team of talented artists, including his co-pilot Joe Young, and his apprentices Andrea Cook and Greg Frisby. David Boxley joined them to carve the Tsimshian figure, while Rob Mills shaped the Ling铆t figure with masterful detail.
香蕉视频直播淭he logistics were something new for us. We never carved a totem pole 360-degree like that,香蕉视频直播� said Young. 香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 no real front and no real back. They [Sealaska Heritage Institute] wanted the front and back and the sides to be equally pleasing to look at,香蕉视频直播� he added.
Drawing alone was a lengthy process. Young made between 40 to 50 different renditions of the structure. The carving took the group at least six months.
A Common Story
Young, a Kaigani Haida, grew up in Hydaburg. He shares that his ancestors migrated in the early 1700s from Kiusta, a village in northern Haida Gwaii, to North Island in Alaska.
Three notable figures of guards are visible on the pole, which Young says symbolizes all three of the carver buddies: he represents the Haida, while the others represent the Ling铆t and Tsimshian.
Below is a raven and an eagle, symbolizing the cultural value of balance. Both are oriented in opposite directions and are proportionately equal.
Under the raven sits a strong, intriguing man whose story is shared among the Haida, Ling铆t, and Tsimshian, featuring variations of similar tales.
香蕉视频直播淲e traded stories too, and crests. We didn香蕉视频直播檛 just have our own and stick with them. We traded songs, stories, crests,香蕉视频直播� said Young.
This strong man was a warrior who got picked on most of his life. People underestimated him but didn香蕉视频直播檛 realize that he would train in the dark at nighttime.
Then, one night, when the village was asleep, he fought and killed a big sea lion.
香蕉视频直播淎nd not only that, but he rips it in half, right down the middle. So you香蕉视频直播檒l see that warrior on one of the sides of the pole ripping the sea lion in half,香蕉视频直播� said Young.
This extraordinary moment of strength and triumph was captured in stories for generations to come.
The base of the pole is itself a big face. It香蕉视频直播檚 a supernatural figure holding up the world with his hands.
香蕉视频直播淚 actually threw a hidden figure in there. Nobody really caught on to it,香蕉视频直播� said Young.
From a certain angle, near the eagle is a figure wearing a mushroom hat.
香蕉视频直播淭hat香蕉视频直播檚 paying homage to our shamans, who were methodically torn down by the missionaries one by one, in order for them to come in and start sharing their profits. They knew that our medicine men or our shaman were consulted with by the chiefs,香蕉视频直播� said Young.
香蕉视频直播淭hey were our medicine men. They were kind of our spirit guides. The missionaries that came in, they knew that. So they went after them. They were pretty rough on them, and they were the first to kind of be de-legitimized by the missionaries in the government."
香蕉视频直播淎nd after that, it was a little bit easier to convert a lot of the chiefs and the weavers and fishermen and the builders. I had to pay my respects to the shamans.香蕉视频直播�
Fading Away
香蕉视频直播淲e know we came from Haida Gwaii. We香蕉视频直播檙e pretty proud of that,香蕉视频直播� said Young. He has boated down to the archipelago plenty with his family.
Young says that when smallpox hit his forefathers香蕉视频直播� village in 1862, the missionaries saw it as an opening for them to convert a lot of them successfully.
香蕉视频直播淎 lot of us were just at that point, scared and desperate. And they took out 96 per cent of us, and when there香蕉视频直播檚 mass graves going on, I don香蕉视频直播檛 even know how they kept their sanity at that point, but they managed to keep their insanity...香蕉视频直播�
The atrocity was followed by Canada香蕉视频直播檚 Potlatch Laws in 1885, which banned Indigenous people from practicing their Potlatch ceremony. This created a barrier to their cultural expression.
香蕉视频直播淪o we couldn香蕉视频直播檛, at that point, we couldn香蕉视频直播檛 be who we were. We knew we couldn香蕉视频直播檛 just be white people all of a sudden, too,香蕉视频直播� the carver expressed.
香蕉视频直播淲e [were] stuck in this 香蕉视频直播榠n between phase香蕉视频直播� where we can香蕉视频直播檛 even carve or do our own art, or speak our language.
香蕉视频直播淪o we were kind of more or less like 'Okay, as it was a survival tactic, we had to convert, or we had to at least try to get an education'.香蕉视频直播�
Adaptation was the only way.
The artistic comeback
Young香蕉视频直播檚 grandfather, Claude Morrison, whom he considers his inspiration for woodwork, transitioned from carving 70-foot canoes to building large sailing and patrolling boats to keep up with the times.
香蕉视频直播淪o they were able to adapt, just in the generation, just like that,香蕉视频直播� said a proud Young.
香蕉视频直播淗is attitude, their whole generation香蕉视频直播檚 attitude was, 香蕉视频直播榟old, we need to adapt, or we香蕉视频直播檙e going to fade away.香蕉视频直播� So he intentionally didn香蕉视频直播檛 teach my mom the language.香蕉视频直播�
Young spent a lot of time with his grandparents growing up. He noticed his grandfather still made halibut hooks.
香蕉视频直播淗e still carved and made halibut hooks and fished the halibut hooks... It was an 'aha' moment when we realized these cool things hanging on the wall. He still catches big halibut with them.
香蕉视频直播淪o that was a profound moment when me and my brother Joe realized that he香蕉视频直播檚 still one of the old Haidas, not just in speaking, but in actual practice, too.香蕉视频直播�
Morrison taught the two boys how to create gaffes and hooks, and from there, they both began exploring the world of art.
They found out about Bill Reid and Robert Davidson.
香蕉视频直播淲e knew about them, we emulated them, we copied them,香蕉视频直播� said Young. They also started taking more inspiration from Charles Edenshaw and Jim Hart.
香蕉视频直播淭hose were our Michael Jordan and LeBron James and Michael Jackson. Those were our heroes,香蕉视频直播� said Young.
Young says he lucked out by apprenticing under Robert Davidson for four years.
He and his brother were inspired by the talented carvers in Haida Gwaii and set a goal to represent their hometown, Hydaburg, Alaska.
香蕉视频直播淲e took it personal,香蕉视频直播� said Young. They wanted to uphold that standard of carving in Hydaburg as well.
Both took pride in the fact that Robert Davidson, one of the greatest carvers, was born in Hydaburg, even if he only lived there briefly.
香蕉视频直播淭hat was enough for us to light the spark. Me and my brother Joe... we香蕉视频直播檝e been going hard ever since, like trying to represent Hydaburg in a good way, and not just on the basketball court, but in the carving shed as well. We香蕉视频直播檇 like to tell 香蕉视频直播檈m we carve on and off the court,香蕉视频直播� Young shared.
Ben, Joe and TJ香蕉视频直播檚 other brother, is some of the only Kaigani Haida speakers who have taken up the mission of teaching and keeping the language alive.
香蕉视频直播淚 know you get a lot of notoriety and attention for putting up a totem pole, but my brother, there香蕉视频直播檚 the real cultural hero in preserving the language. Because without that, a lot of it would just go untranslated,香蕉视频直播� said the proud elder brother.
A fourth brother, Claude, is who T.J. calls the 香蕉视频直播渟ubsistence guy.香蕉视频直播� He is skilled at hunting and fishing, and he does an excellent job with subsistence living. Claude focuses on feeding elders and children, teaching them how to hunt, fish, and skin sea otters.
香蕉视频直播淲e香蕉视频直播檙e all trying to do our part to keep and maintain, it香蕉视频直播檚 been this way for thousands of years. The only difference is, there香蕉视频直播檚 screens in front of our face now and so we香蕉视频直播檙e just modern, or indeed like everybody else. But what we do goes back thousands of years, and we香蕉视频直播檙e trying to keep that connection going. We don香蕉视频直播檛 want to let that go."
"It香蕉视频直播檚 a powerful, strong connection that we don香蕉视频直播檛 want to sever.香蕉视频直播�
