Name: _____________________ Period: _____ Date: __________ Totem Pole Project What is a Totem Pole? Totem poles serve as important illustrations of family lineage and the cultural heritage of native peoples who live in the islands and coastal areas of North America’s Pacific Northwest, especially British Columbia, Canada, and coastal areas of Washington and southeastern Alaska in the United States. In Edwin’s words from Touching Spirit Bear, “Indians don’t own the trees or the right to carve. Carve anything you want. Your totem is your story, your search, and your past. Everybody has their own. That’s why you carve. That’s why you dance the dances. That’s why you live life- to discover and create your own story.” What do you notice about the Tlingit totem poles below? Observation: Observation: Directions: Begin by creating sections on your paper for each picture you are going to draw. You can do this by dividing your paper into three vertical sections. It should look like the example below if you mean to make space for four animals. Step 1: Brainstorming Time to figure out what tells your story the best. Is it animals, objects, musicians, or artists? You can create your own type of totem pole. It just has to tell your story and show your aspirations. Step 2: Drawing For each of the spaces in your center column, draw an item carefully, paying attention to detail. You can use the images below of Tlingit Totems to influence your drawing or create your own style. If you are drawing animals, it is important to draw animals that you admire or love to see from your area of the world, the Hudson Valley. Think of the traits that each animal uses to survive and how that could be useful in your own lives. Step 2: Writing For each animal, to the right of your drawing, you will write about what trait that bird has that you admire and how you could apply that trait to your own lives. Here is an example: This will be hidden when you glue your project together. There is an orange flash of color that lives on my driveway. She seems to fly just about the ground going between the forest and the small pond all the animals visit. The fox is smart and decisive. She trusts herself and needs the permission of no one. Just for fun! Can you identify the following native species of our beloved Hudson Valley?
