16 Termee Review — Wednesday, August 12, 1987 _

TERRACE — In one of the ma:
jor events of the year, the Gila-

Robin) hosted their first’ totem
pole-raising ceremonies in 150
years with thousands of spec-
tators witnessing a ceremony in
which Native and: white joined
hands to raise two totem poles
simultaneously with traditional
Native methods.

The official procession started
at the Kitsumkalum Band’s new

Lax’ kw’ Alaams majorettes and
band from Port Simpson. This
was followed by hundreds of
people carrying the two totem
poles, the larger of which was
estimated to weigh over 4,500
pounds. At the rear of the pro-
cession. were the totem pole
carvers and village people as well
as some invited dignitaries. .
Once in at the site, the poles
were raised in the: traditional
manner, with hundreds of vol-
unteers manning ropes to lift the
totems into place where they
could stand as permanent sen-
tinels of Kitsumkalum Village. |

At the historic totem pole raising Aug. 1 on the Kitsumkalum Reserve the
beating of drums and the wishes of witnesses, some in traditional cress, aid-
ed the efforts of those who pulled the cedar carvings upward.

Quoex people (People of the -

firehall and was preceded by”

a a

Thousands chee
as poles rise Le

. . . : . .
. : : ao
aye a a . . a .
: we Re JOLT He eS wie ‘
. 7 woP te . Tee . oe se
L “ee * a at a 7
, soa . * bale
. ' yey ‘ nf
: sot on eee >

Straining to lift the heavy. Kitsumkalum. migration: from oo

‘totems and. guide them “into -
Place, the volunteers were assist- -
ed with light pine poles lashed
_into an A-frame allowing them.
-to rest with the poles at a 45‘de-.
" gree angle before their final ef-
‘fort to raise the totems to their
_vertical position,

As the carved cedar monoliths

Fested on braces at an oblique
‘angle, Kitsumkalum. Chief Cliff
Bolton explained the: signifi-
‘cance of the two poles and the.

cryptic images graven on them, .

‘He said the larger pole-is intend-

ed to remind the children ‘and
young people of their heritage,
with ‘the individual carvings. be-

_ing the crests of-all the clans that -

make up the Kitsumkalum peo-
ple. The other pole, he said, is a:

reproduction of an ancient pole .
‘that conveys respect for ‘the tri-

bal elders and “those who. have
gone into the spirit world’,

‘Bolton recited a version of an

old story related to the smaller
pole whose theme was Tespect
for the animal world, and which
ended with the history of the

Thousands of witnesses crossed cultural barriers for a few hours on Aug. 1 to join in celebrating the first totem pole
raising in more than 150 years on the Kitsumkalum Reserve. The occasion was the first time in living memory that two
poles were raised simultaneously, As the Poles rested on braces before being holsted to their final. position, Kit-
sumkalum Chief Cliff Bolton explained the signiflcance of the images carved on them.

McCoy in.
B.C. minor
_ hockey

Prince Rupert’s Mat McCoy
has survived training camps to
emerge as the only Northwest
minor hockey player to be nam-
ed to the 22-player, under-17
B.C, roster. The 16-year-old |
defenceman is off this week with
his B.C,. mates to Calgary,
where they train with.the best in
Alberta from the Aug. 13 to 19.

A 20-player ‘‘Pacific Region’’

team will than be selected to , : Cc himo Dali
compete in a major international m | | Vv @e r ;
Lannsne y

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‘Term of

6331 Mc

their old home on. the upper Kit-
sumkalum, also called the Cedar
River, to the site of the present
village. i

According ©

to -Bolton, . the

“Bear Pole’ told the story of a

young girl who didn’t ‘respect
animals until an adventure in the
wild where she learned that ani-
mals were an important: part of
life and should be regarded with
honor. . _

. Speeches were made by Victor
Reece from Hartley: Bay, who
was’ the technical advisor, and’
Vera Henry from Port Simpson
who had helped plan the event

‘since January. Solomon Mars-.

den, a Kitwancool elder, sang a.
traditional Native song honoring
the occasion..

The official ceremony was
closed with dances by visiting
tribes and the Carver’s Dance by:
all the carvers led by instructor
Freda Diesing. :
_ With the pole. raising com-
plete, witnesses to the event
moved to the Terrace arena

where the Gila-Quoex, with the

The Northwest Community College
PROFESSIONAL NURSING PROGRAM.
requires part-time instructors to teach the following courses:
-"BHSC 105 - Anatomy and Physiology
BHSC 118 - Personal Fitness Management
BHSC 140 - Human Development |

" Quailfications: Applicants should possess at least a
Bachelor's Degree. Teaching experience’

Appointment: Classes begin during the week of August
31, 1987, Appointments are for one
semester and will be according to the
C.U.P.E. Coliective Agreement. — -

Applications and resumes should be sent by August 7, 1987 to:

Mr. R.P. Kilborn we
Director, Business and Health Programs
Northwest Community College - .
Connell! Avenue, Terrace, B.C. V8G 402

help of the Kitselas tribe and
others, hosted a traditional feast
for an estimated 2,000 guests to
celebrate-the event.

A wide ranging, well organiz-
ed, buffet style menu provided
more than ample food for guests
of every taste.

Of the many speeches and.
dances by visiting tribes that
followed the meal,one event held
special significance. Kitsum-
kalum Native Gerald Wesley of
the Blackfish Clan was adopted
by his aunt, Adelaine Ryan, into

1 ‘the Raven Clan, where he was

given the name Xbe-Lac-Huh
and made a hereditary chief of
the Kitsumkalum Band.

This was followed. by tradi-
tional gift-giving by the Kit-
sumkalum hosts, where. crackers
and fruit. were passed out. to
symbolically represent the giving
of food, and material gifts were
given out which traditionally
binds the guests by their honor
as witnesses to the events of the
day in the event of any tribal
disputes, an

The feast ended the same way
it would have hundreds of years
ago. The Blanket Dance provid-
ed an opportunity for guests to
thank their hosts by giving gifts

'| in return. The Blanket Dance
| lasted more than 20 minutes as

continued on page 17

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