Raising the Totem: Exploring Northwest Coast Indigenous Cultures May 22, 2010

The Mitchel Museum presents 'Raising the Totem: Exploring Northwest Coast Indigenous Cultures,' an exhibit about the culture of Native peoples of the Northwest Coast, coinciding with the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. The independent, nonprofit Mitchell Museum, which has a significant collection of Northwest Coast artifacts, felt that an exhibit about the region would afford museum visitors an insight into -- and a closer connection with -- the Native peoples who will have a high profile during Olympic telecasts. The exhibit will comprise approximately 50 objects, mostly from the museum's permanent collection, along with historical photos. On view will be ceremonial cedar masks, totem pole models, flat art, baskets, rattles, and other items that help illustrate Northwest Coast spirituality, history, customs, and contemporary concerns. The displays "represent the best of the Mitchell Museum's Northwest Coast collection," according to the curators. The Northwest Coast cultural area is a narrow crescent of land extending approximately 1,500 miles from southern Alaska to the Oregon-California border, flanked by the Pacific Ocean to the west and inland mountain ranges to the east. Archaeologists believe Native peoples have populated this region for more than 10,000 years. Salmon, whales, sea mammals, and cedar forests figure prominently in traditional Native life ways. Elaborate feasts known as potlatches and carved cedar totem or crest poles depicting family history and social status are cultural touchstones. Among the area's distinctive, iconic symbols are the raven and the thunderbird.