Totem poles are an ancient tradition of the Indian tribes of
the Pacific Northwest Coast--Washington state in the USA, British
Columbia in Canada--and some of the Athabaskan tribes of southern
Alaska. Contrary to popular belief, the Southwest Indians, Plains
Indians, and Inuit never carved totem poles (use your common
sense--there are no trees that size in the Sonoran desert or the
Arctic tundra!) Now and then, though, you will hear an
anthropologist claim that there was never any such thing as totem
poles at all before Europeans came to the New World.
Since totems are made of wood and decay over time, there is no way
to prove to anthropologists that this assertion is false, but the
oral histories of Northwestern Indians and their neighbors are
unanimous about totem poles existing in those cultures long before
European arrival, and the form and designs of totem poles are so
stylized and distinctive it is hard to believe they sprang up
recently. They have definitely grown in size since the acquisition
of European woodcarving tools, though.
The totem poles in Haida, Tlingit, Kwakiutl, and other Northwest
Coast folklore were carried by men or stood inside a room. Neither
was possible for the majestic totem poles made during the 1800's,
which were made of single pieces of cedar up to forty feet
high.
The cache is a 35mm film can in a lump of camo, BYOP
HAZARD WARNING!!!---Check out
Zorks note of dangerous plants at GZ and---
LINK
For Ronnie Barkers take on the "plant" -;)