hd The Haida: _ nation of artists BOUT 1820 the Haida Indians of’ the Queen Charlotte Is- lands began to execute carvings in a soft, dark slate called argil- lite. The relentless onrush of white man’s civilization created the conditions for this unique and powerful type of art. But . the whites also crushed it when they corrupted and decimated the Haida themselves, destroy- ing their ancient ways without affording them any decent or honorable place in the new and more advanced society that -re- Placed the old. Every student of the Indians of the Northwest Pacific Coast has high praise for the cultural achievements of the Haida. Re- | latively isolated in their timber-_ . @d island ‘home off the British Columbia coast, bountifully Supplied with the necessities of life from sea, stream and forest, they had the material plenty hecessary to the development of & varied culture. Long before white prospec- tors discovered the single quarry _ Of argillaceous stone on Graham Island in the Queen Charlottes, these Indians had won renown for their manual dexterity. They built great war canoes Up to 70 feet long and. large houses of huge cedar slabs. They . fashioned implements of peace and war: adzes, masks, fishing tmplements, head-dresses, woven hats and blankets, and ceremon- lal objects used in their richly Symbolic dances. _ The best known of their cre- tions, of course, are the giant tions of Central _ scholars, By WILL PARRY cedars of the rain forest, often 60 to 70 feet in height. These totems had no religious significance. Most of them were family crests. Some were erect- ed in commemoration of special events. Others were mortuary poles, honoring the memory of some proud chief. Other cedar posts had doorways carved in them, and were used as en- trances to the Haida homes. Other Coast Indians carved great and imposing totems, but ‘the skill of the Haida in this ‘field ranked highest of all. - Unfortunately, unlike ae ea and Maya civiliza- Sagan and South America, the Haida worked in perishable wood. Few totems lasted more than 75 years. They were particularly subject to rot at the base. But the decisive cause of their destruction was the white conqueror. Missionaries mistook the totems for idols and ignorantly ordered them destroyed. The Haida were taught to scorn their ancient proud ways. By 1850 the art of the massive carvings ‘had reached its zenith. ‘Thirty years later the Haida were cutting down the totems for firewood. And by 1925, only ‘four of the original 39 Haida villages were left. Their popula- tion had declined in 90 years of white inroads from about 7,000 to six or seven hundred. Along with their tribal life, their art forms fell into disuse and decay. Belated efforts were made by by the | Canadian x government, and by the WPA and CCC during the New Deal era, to preserve some of the re-. maining totem poles. ‘About 300 are said to exist today, of all _the thousands carved by the Haida and their neighboring tribes in totem country. * Fortunately, the Haida also told their story in a more en- during material than cedar: a carbonaceous. shale, usually called slate, scientifically known as argillite. A curious set of historical circumstances led to their extensive work in this medium. The Haida had for centuffies \ relied chiefly on the sea for food, clothing, and articles. of trade with other tribes. But about the time of the American Revolu- tionary War, white fur trading vessels began to scour the waters of the North Pacific. Their chief object was the sea otter skins that even then brought $40 each in the world market Soon the’ sea otter had been destroyed and many of the other marine resources of the ‘ Haita’ were depleted. This compelled the Indians to rely on other means of securing’ wealth. Many turned to potato farming. Others carved hun- dreds of canoes for other tribes less skilled in this art. And after the discoVery of the argillite quarry in 1820, many Haida be- gan skilfully shaping this material into items of trade. The early 19th century saw the British fur traders followed to the North Pacific by intre- pid American whaling vessels out of Bedford, Boston and Paw- tucket. Often the Haida signed on as hands, making voyages to Can- ton, California and the Sandwich (Hawaiian). Islands. During the long sea voyages, they watched their fellow whalers from New England making fanciful carv- ings from whale’s teeth or walrus tusks. The Haida respected crafts- manship, and there was much to respect in the work of these self-taught artisans. Their sea- ivory work included American eagles, bearded men and nymphs in the form of ship’s figureheads, - stern-pieces elaborated with scrolls and -fiddle-heads, work and ditty boxes. ; The sailor’s craft was known as “scrimshaw,” a word of un- known origin defined as “a neat piece of mechanical work...to ornament, as shells, ivory, etc., by engraving.” The Haida quickly absorbed the scrimshaw technique, and on their return to the Queen Charlottes they taught their naturally gifted fellow tribesmen to use the new whiteman’s tools on the bone and ivory. But bone and ivory were scarce; the argillite discovered about 1820 up rugged Slate- ’ chuck Mountain, just eight miles west of the Haida village of Skidegate, was plentiful. Ap- parently the first work in this medium was dishes, amulets, pipes and other items of trade. Later on, the carvings were mainly miniature totems, 10 to 14 inches in height. The “Golden Age” of argillite carving was from about 1840 to 1860. ° * . The Indians used an ordinary carpenter’s saw to cut off a block of the soft stone of about the right size. Then they used the new iron tools of the white man — or more often shaped their own implements — to gouge“ and carve the argillite into’ lasting beauty and‘ form. When completed, the carvings had a dull grey cast. The In- dians carefully rubbed the white man’s stove or shoe polish (later a mixture of vaseline and graphite) into the pores of the stone. Then they buffed the carving to give it its character- istic, beautiful soft gloss. The miniature argillite totem poles conventionalized the fig- ures which later appeared on the highly elaborate totems of bright red cedar. ‘ It is difficult to recognize some of the figures. Some are natur- alistic, some distorted according to Haida artistic conventions, still others are mythical beings. The figures had to be fitted on a rounded pole. To do this, the Haida carvers in effect split them up the back and flattened them out. The: limbs, wings, and so on, were carefully* re- arranged to fill out the available space. Perspective was often completely disregarded. Both argillite and cedar totems often tell the richly imaginative stories of Haida mythology. © Figuring in this mythology are many beings strikingly sim- ilar to those born in the minds of men in other parts’ of the world. : ; There is Wasco the Sea Wolf, like Hercules a destroyer of monsters; Stone Ribs, who, like Atlas! held the earth on his ° shoulders; Su’san or Strong Man, comparable to Samson killing the Philistines, or St. George slaying the Dragon. There is Nanasimgat, the native Orpheus, who loved his bride so dearly that after her untimely death he sought her shade in.the nether world. There is Tlenemaw, or the Dragon, who presided over the waters and the fertility of earth much as did the Hydra of China. Then also there is Yehl the Raven, and the Thunderbird, two divine birds, creator and ruler of heaven and Sf earth, respectively. The Haida had impressive folktales of the great bird that caused thunder by flapping his wings, caught whales in his -copper talons, and caused light- ning by blinking his eyes. The “magic” or “giant” bird has found it way in one guise or another into the legends of early peoples almost everywhere. The animals and sea life known to the Haida were a rich part of their art. Raven, eagle, wolf, bear, killer whale, skate, mountain goat, sea-lion, frog, beaver, .shark, duck, codfish) owl, dogfish and dragon fly were portrayed. * * The massive cedar carvings are perhaps the best and most widely known of the Haida’s work, but their creativity in argillite is one of America’s richest cultural heritages. .“Miniature-like and perhaps deceptive at first sight as may be argillite work,” says Marius Barbeau, foremost student of the Haida, “it is none the less monumental in content and im- plications. : “Resting upon reatism as it does—for its basic repertory consists of familiar animals and. human beings — it stylizes and transfigures its themes into a framework eminently suited to the materials incorporating them. “Moreover, it embodies for all to behold a rich mythology which belongs to humanity as a whole.” — Barbeau compares argillite work to “Egyptian, Cretan and Greek sculptors whose subject was mythology and whose medium was marble.” “Native America and the Mediterranean countries were listening to the voice of an ageless past — tthe same for both,” he says, “and they were striving to immortalize it with imperishable form. Today the hundreds of ex- quisitely-carved miniature to- tems of agillite are scattered in museums and private art. col- lections aeross the U.S. and Canada — the most’ enduring cultural contribution of a na- tion of superlative craftsmen.