When the Raven totem pole left Jasper in 2010, it was repatriated to the Haida Nation on B.C.’s Haida Gwaii, but the transition came with a few surprises.
The totem pole, which originally stood 18 metres, was cut down to 12 after the base began to rot. It stood watch over Jasper for 94 years before it was taken down, stripped of its paint and transported back to Old Masset, B.C. In 2011, Jasper raised a new totem pole called the Two Brothers, which was carved by Jaalen and Gwaai Edenshaw.
Traditionally, totem poles are repatriated to their places of origin and laid down in an area where they can decompose into the soil.
Instead of returning to the earth, the Raven totem pole resides in a traditional-style longhouse, which also houses the Old Masset Youth Centre.
“There was a lot of controversy about that within the community, some of the elders wanted it to be brought back to its original place in Old Masset,” said carpenter Jason Camp, who built a display case for the totem pole.
Camp has many Jasper ties; his grandfather and great-grandfather were park wardens, a second cousin works for Parks, and Camp is friends with the Edenshaw brothers who carved Jasper’s new totem pole.
The Old Masset Village Council decided where the Raven totem pole’s final resting spot would be, he said. The pole hasn’t been sealed or repainted; it looks the same as it did the day it left Jasper.
As he began to work on the display case, Camp noticed that “there was definitely some energy around the pole that was telling everyone that it wanted to be back in the ground and rotting.”
Initially, Camp was asked to build the case due to strong fumes that emanated from the totem pole. “A lot of people were getting sick from some of the fumes that were coming off it … you could feel your eyes get all puffy and it was really toxic.” He smelled arsenic and wood preservative treatment, and had to wear a mask while working.
The totem pole’s most outstanding statement happened while Camp cut the very last piece of wood he needed to finish the case. He prefers to cut materials outside, but a violent storm forced him to bring his saw inside.
“As I cut the wood, a tooth on my saw blade flew right through the panel of glass and smashed everywhere,” he said. “It was such a sign that [the totem pole] didn’t want to be in that building.”
Instead of finishing the project that day, Camp delicately swept glass off the ancient totem pole and ordered another $700, eight foot by nine foot glass panel. He completed the case without further incident, but the weather outside remained unpleasant, he noted.
The Raven totem pole has been resting on blocks inside its custom case for almost two years and is part of the village’s weekly totem pole tour.
“I think now that the project is complete, now people tend to forget about it, but it is a piece of history that is sitting in this tiny little building in the middle of nowhere.”
Camp isn’t a spiritual person, but the smashing of the glass resonates with him.
“That pole did not want to be in that building, that pole wanted to be back in nature,” he said. “It was telling everybody ‘don’t do this to me’.”
Sarah Makowsky
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