Totem Pole

Seattle is an unusual city. 99% of it feels oversized, mediocre, and abandoned. It seems as if the whole municipal population of the city crowds into one tiny section of town called pike’s place. It’s a sliver of the coastline that is active... a bustling pedestrian zone comprised of farmer’s markers, art bazaars, flower dealers, seafood markets, artisanal foods and beverages. On our procession through this zone we bought various chowders, fried seafood, organic apple cider, spicy beef jerky, and organic hazelnuts.

The most gratifying purchase I made however was just north of pike’s place at a park bench in ‘Indian Park,” as some Native Americans call Victor Steinbrueck Park. A young Indian was whittling a piece of wood and talking to tourists. I asked what animal symbols he was carving into the wood. He replied a thunderbird over a frog. Each character has significance in their story.

“The Thunderbird is a mythical creature that is said to be the dominating force. the Thunderbird creates booms of thunder by flapping his wings, and shoots bolts of lightning from his eyes, when hunters got too close to his home.By creating rain storms he waters the earth, making it possible for vegetation to grow. He is said to be so huge that his wing span is as large as two canoes, and that he could easily carry a killer whale out of the water with his talons. Only the most powerful and successful chiefs and families use the Thunderbird in their crest. Long ago the Native people pleaded to the Thunderbird for help in times of food shortage, he helped, but in return requested that from then on he be only be depicted at the top of a totem pole with his wings stretched out. That is why on many Northwest Coast totem poles, the Thunderbird is carved on top of the pole.”

The Native Symbol the Frog symbolizes wealth and abundance. When a Frog is portrayed in art with his tongue touching another creature, it represents the sharing of knowledge and power. Many native cultures believe that Frogs prevent loss, which is why small Frog coins are put in purses to prevent money loss. The Haida also carved Frogs on their house posts in the belief that the Frogs would prevent the posts from falling down.”

I asked the young carver if I could purchase the 6” totem I saw by his side. He told me it was his father’s carving and went to bring him over. The dad wore a black headband and had gray and black hair. One of his eyes was cloudy grey. His name was rick Williams, and his name is cut deep into the back of the totem pole. He spoke more of his process, how he uses a pocketknife to carve all his totems, even large scale poles... that he came from a family of wood carvers up north of Vancouver. A week prior I had gone to the anthropology museum in Vancouver and seen and learned a lot about the wood carvings and totem poles of the indigenous people of the area. He was surprised I knew a bit of the history of totem poles (they’re used to commemorate deaths, tell people about their clan characteristics, usually raised at potlatch ceremonies) and grateful I offered to pay his initial asking price. I didn’t feel like bargaining... and I appreciated his stories. When I started to leave, he hurried after me and called me back, and gave another totem to me for free. “These totems should be together as a pair.” He then told me to check out a large scale totem pole carving he made located near the space needle. I hadn’t planned on going to the touristy space needle, but now I had incentive to go, plus the flights to nyc were delayed giving more time to explore Seattle.

On my flight back I decided to look up rick Williams to see other carvings of his.. I found instead were tragic story regarding the origin of the space needle totem pole. Rick’s brother, John, had been slain by Seattle police. Walking down the street half deaf and with knife and block of wood doing the thing he loved most in life, he didn’t hear the police officer’s orders to drop his knife. He was tragically shot down. The totem poles sitting on my shelf will always be a pair... bonded like brothers.