pitanbedel eel swags ihe. Community TheReview a : Wednesday, August 28, 109t == AS Totems from Tsawout to rise against the rising sun by Valorie Lennox The Review West Coast totems, bold figures hewed from massive cedar logs, will rise over the cherry blossoms in Ohtaki, Japan, next spring. Last week on the Tsawout Reserve, carvers Doug La Fortune and Aubrey La Fortune were work- ing long hours ‘to finish one thirty- foot and two 10-foot totems. Intended to provide a cultural link between Ohtaki and sister city Lake Cowichan, the totems were loaded into containers Sunday and Monday for the trip to Japan. They will arrive in Ohtaki in mid- September. A submission by Doug and Aubrey La Fortune earned both Tsawout carvers the $35,000 con- tract last May, but supplier Fletcher-Challenge was not able to find suitable logs for the totems. The logs not only had to be long enough, they also had to measure three to three-and-a-half-feet in diameter. “We waited and waited for a log. Finally I went and found a log myself, Doug explained. By the time he obtained the cedar log from MacMillan Bloe- del, the totems were due in five weeks. ' “It’s been a lot of 16-hour days,” Doug said. Extra help came from Doug’s younger brother Francis Horn, a well-known carver in the Van- couver area, who was in the area carving at the Native Heritage Centre in Duncan. Every night he drove from Duncan to Tsartlip to help Doug finish the main 30-foot totem pole. Horn, a carver for 17 years, recently finished a 15-foot pole for the new Children’s Zoo in Stanley Park. Doug’s nephew, 15-year-old Darryl Baker, has also worked on the 30-foot Ohtaki totem. Doug carved one of the 10-foot totems and Aubrey did the other A FIRST TOTEM, this dramatic 10-foot pole was carved by Aubrey La Fortune, part of a commission to produce three poles for the village of Ohfaki in Japan. 93% an 2” R. Oak. Pane $3 B.F. 1-1/2” R. Oak... PHONE | PW ESTWIND HARDWOOD INC. 656-0848 PoveRe BOWERBANK SIDNEY 28 PERCHED ON the 30-foof totem pole he carved for the village of Ohtaki in Japan is Tsawout carver Doug La Fortune. The large totem and two 10 poles were loaded for shipment to Japan Sunday and Monday. 10-foot totem. The project is Aubrey’s first major carving commission, Doug said. In designing the totems, the brothers tried to chose symbols which would have significance for the Japanese. The 30-foot totem is topped with an eagle, resting on a bear mother with baby — “they like children in Japan,” — and a beaver’ at the bottom, reflecting hard work and industry. “They wanted something they could understand with their cul- ture,” Doug added. For the smaller totem, Doug carved an humorously happy bear clutching a huge salmon. Aubrey chose to carve a beaver with a cross-hatched tail and dra- matic, black-rimmed eyes. “It’s a pretty good pole for his first one,’ Doug said, judging the work by his own 20 years’ experi- ence as a carver. He chose to paint the 30-foot pole in red, black and blue. The poles for Ohtaki are Doug’s most significant commission to date. He was invited to bid for the = Extra Midnight Madness Sunday commission after carving poles for the City of Duncan. Ron Smith, development officer for the Village of Lake Cowichan, said the poles will be an additional visitors’ attraction in Ohtaki, a community of 2,000 people on Hokkaido. The area is known for hot springs, ski hills, golf courses and a national park, Smith said. Since becoming twinned with Lake Cowichan in 1988, the Japanese ‘If’s not only for my granafather, it’s for all his generation who have now passed away’ community has imported two log buildings and a 29-foot long, eight foot diameter log for display. Stu- dents and teachers have exchanged visits. An economic development liai- son officer from Lake Cowichan has been living in the Japanese community for 10 months and Smith hopes both communities will undertake joint ventures in the future. Doug’s next project will remain at home, on the Tsawout Reserve. He plans to carve a 20 to 25-foot memorial totem for his grandfather Richard Harry, the last hereditary chief on the reserve. The pole will also commemor- ate his grandfather’s generation. “T’ve been wanting to do it for a long time, to let everyone know they were here and haven’t been forgotten, * Doug said. The pole will include owl, bear, raven and mother with child fig- ures. At present, there are no totems on the reserve. Doug hopes other relatives and grandsons will join with him on the project, which he expects will take all winter to complete. “Tt’s not only for my grand- father, it’s for all his generation who have now passed away.” Gren BON Bory ge : Whenever you want : your message to eo last and last Plants 0% : Horget-Me-Nat ‘ 652-9149 al NEXT, TO OAKCREST FOOD % SAANICHTON say it best. #5-7816 E. SAANICH RD. ee. e Genesis e NOW OPEN in Central Saanich (behind McDonald’s) #5 - 2475 Mount Newton X Road, Saanichton 652-2627 - Rentals and Sales - Camcorders « with all the VCR’s « Movies Nintendos latest movie releases — and hundreds of older favourites SIDNEY Sept. ist - OPEN ‘TIL 2:00 A.M. BIG GAME TARGETS $500 - $1,000 SID Super Specials 10 A.M., 3 RM. & 10:30 PM:! NEY 2 for 1 coupon GOOD FOR ANY MOVIES ANY DAY OF THE WEEK —expires Sept. 30/ 91— Lenonw ene e222 2e2S0282 822022086