Art of Pacific Northwest Indians
https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=36601
General Information
Source:
Creator:
Event Date:
Air/Publish Date:
NBC Today Show
Bryant Gumbel/Boyd
Matson
11/12/1986
11/12/1986
Resource Type:
Copyright:
Copyright Date:
Clip Length
Video News Report
NBCUniversal Media,
LLC.
1986
00:04:57
Description
The American Indian tribes of the Pacific Northwest have long crafted cultural masks and totem poles, but
have recently started selling these artifacts as souvenirs.
Keywords
Totem Poles, Native Americans, Indians, Alaskan Natives, Alaska, British Columbia, Kwakiutl, Canada,
Washington State, Culture, Tradition, Art, Artists, Supernatual, Potlatch, Ceremony, Ritual, Racism,
Museums, Pacific Northwest, Masks, Business, PepsiCo, Robert Davidson, Haida
Citation
MLA
"Art of Pacific Northwest Indians." Boyd Matson, correspondent. NBC Today Show. NBCUniversal
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Page 1 of 4
Media. 12 Nov. 1986. NBC Learn. Web. 19 March 2015
APA
Matson, B. (Reporter), & Gumbel, B. (Anchor). 1986, November 12. Art of Pacific Northwest Indians.
[Television series episode]. NBC Today Show. Retrieved from https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k12/browse/?cuecard=36601
CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE
"Art of Pacific Northwest Indians" NBC Today Show, New York, NY: NBC Universal, 11/12/1986.
Accessed Thu Mar 19 2015 from NBC Learn: https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k12/browse/?cuecard=36601
Transcript
Art of Pacific Northwest Indians
BRYANT GUMBEL, anchor:
On CROSS COUNTRY this morning TODAY correspondent Boyd Matson takes us to British Columbia
where tribal totem poles and animal masks are no longer just relics of a long-lost Indian past but a thriving
art form that’s become part of the now generation.
BOYD MATSON reporting:
Vivid images from a faded culture. Artistic interpretations depicting supernatural beings. An art form born
out of the traditions of the Northwest coast Indians who once ruled the 1,000 mile coastline stretching
from Alaska, down to Canada, and on to Washington State. For many young Indians this heritage is more
than just art history.
Unidentified Artist: It’s our way of life, it’s a tradition.
MATSON: A way of life that was almost wiped out. Most of the art disappeared at the turn of the century.
What was left was relegated to museums, its traditions to be explained by tour guides.
The Indians stopped making new art when their freedom of expression was crushed in a conflict of
cultures. The Canadian government seized these masks during a potlatch gathering some 60 years.
Potlatches were originally called by chiefs to demonstrate their tribal wealth and privilege. Under pressure
from Christian missionaries, the Canadian government banned potlatches. In 1922 the government
actually imprisoned twenty Kwakiutl Indians and confiscated their masks. Finally, in 1980 these objects
were returned to the Kwakiutls in Alert Bay, British Columbia. The museum here is a tribute to the one
tribe that kept this art form alive by working in violation of government orders.
Ms. GLORIA CRANMER WEBSTER: For us the potlatch never died completely, for us the art never
died.
MATSON: The Kwakiutls still carve masks for traditional potlatches but now they also cater to the nonnative market. Some Indians say the art is becoming too commercial and losing its symbolic importance.
Mr. DOUG CRANMER (Artist): Today, everybody is playing more Indian than they used to, you know?
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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MATSON: Artist Doug Cranmer whose father was arrested in the potlatch raids says the survival of the
art today depends on business, not tradition.
Mr. CRANMER: This carving for the Indian, I mean this is ridiculous, I mean Indians didn’t want
carvings, you know?
MATSON: Well the white man does want carvings. Art galleries, particularly in British Columbia, are
springing up that house nothing but these artifacts once designed as handicrafts for souvenir shops.
Unidentified Woman #1: We sell a lot to the United States. We used to just sell to California, now we sell
to the east coast. Things that you could buy for ten dollars before would bring something like $500 now
and it puts a lot of jam on a lot of bread.
MATSON: Totem poles bring in the most bread. They’re popular, and expensive. This one is the creation
of Calvin Hunt, a Kwakiutl Indian.
Unidentified Man: You can’t grab it, it’s hard to grab…
MATSON: The finished pole was sent to the tribe of Dr. Charles Stark who lives 3,000 miles away on the
exclusive West Chester, New York reservation. Once the movers figured out how to lift it, Dr. Stark and
his wife Mary invited friends inside for a champagne and brie potlatching.
Unidentified Woman #2: I’ve never been to a totem pole raising party before.
MATSON: Then Dr. Stark delicately connected the thunderbird wing to the nine-foot, 700-pound totem.
Mr. MARY STARK: I think most of them thought it was a gag, that we were nuts. And the immediate
reaction was “why?”, you know, “what do you mean a totem pole?” It’s a really very vibrant, colorful
piece and it shows that there’s a great chief who lives in this house.
Mr. CHARLES STARK: That’s right.
MATSON: It’s not just museums or private collectors buying these totem poles. Major corporations are
also adding them to their art collections. This particular one was commissioned by the Pepsi Corporation
and it’s going to their corporate headquarters in New York.
PepsiCo is famous for its outdoor art gallery and collection of modern sculpture. Included is this bronze
frog by Canadian artist Robert Davidson, a Haida Indian. PepsiCo also commissioned Davidson to carve
three totem poles.
Mr. ROBERT DAVIDSON (Artist): When I’m carving these totem poles my feeling is to give that totem
pole to the world.
Mr. DONALD KENDALL (Former Chairman, PepsiCo): As far as the totem pole is concerned, that’s
really personally because I’m from the Northwest so I have a great personally interest in Indian art and I
wanted something in our headquarter to represent that part of our country.
MATSON: A few weeks ago Donald Kendall got his wish and helped with the traditional Haida
celebration for the unveiling of the totem poles. The culture that once tried to destroy northwest coast art
now proclaims its greatest and is willing to pay any price for it. To some Indians, this all seems like poetic
justice.
Mr. CRANMER: As long as there are white folk around to buy it, I mean this thing is never going to die.
MATSON: For TODAY, Boyd Matson, NBC News, Vancouver, Canada.
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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