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Totem: The Return of the G'psgolox Pole - DVD
Catalogue Number: NFB524711
Producer: National Film Board Of Canada
Producers: Bonnie Thompson, Jerry Krepakevich, Graydon McCrea
Directors: Gil Cardinal
Producing Agencies: National Film Board of Canada (Montreal), Office national du film du Canada (Montreal)
Subject: Architecture, Arts, Canadian History, Civics, Documentary, Family Studies/Home Economics, First Nations Studies, Indigenous Peoples
Language: English
Grade Level: Post Secondary
Country Of Origin: Canada
Copyright Year: 2003
Running Time: 110:00
Closed Captions: Yes
Click here for pricing
Totem: The Return of the G'psgolox Pole - DVD 
Catalogue Number: NFB524711
Producer: National Film Board Of Canada
Producers: Bonnie Thompson, Jerry Krepakevich, Graydon McCrea
Directors: Gil Cardinal
Producing Agencies: National Film Board of Canada (Montreal), Office national du film du Canada (Montreal)
Subject: Architecture, Arts, Canadian History, Civics, Documentary, Family Studies/Home Economics, First Nations Studies, Indigenous Peoples
Language: English
Grade Level: Post Secondary
Country Of Origin: Canada
Copyright Year: 2003
Running Time: 110:00
Closed Captions: Yes
Click here for pricing
In 1929, the Haisla people of northwestern British Columbia returned from a fishing trip to find a 9-metre-high totem pole, known as the G'psgolox pole, severed at the base and removed from their village. The fate of the 19th-century pole remained unknown to the Haisla for over sixty years.
Director Gil Cardinal reveals the Haisla's 1991 discovery of the pole in a Stockholm museum, where it is considered state property by the Swedish government.
From the lush rainforest near Kitamaat Village, BC, to the National Museum of Ethnography in Sweden, the documentary traces the fascinating journey of the Haisla to reclaim the traditional mortuary pole. Bringing to light a powerful story of cultural rejuvenation, the film raises provocative questions about the ownership and meaning of Aboriginal objects held in museums.
Cardinal skilfully layers compelling interviews, striking imagery and rare footage of master carvers as they create a replica pole. The Haisla have fulfilled a promise to the museum to replace the original totem. Now, having honoured their end of the bargain, they await the return of the G'psgolox pole.
Director Gil Cardinal reveals the Haisla's 1991 discovery of the pole in a Stockholm museum, where it is considered state property by the Swedish government.
From the lush rainforest near Kitamaat Village, BC, to the National Museum of Ethnography in Sweden, the documentary traces the fascinating journey of the Haisla to reclaim the traditional mortuary pole. Bringing to light a powerful story of cultural rejuvenation, the film raises provocative questions about the ownership and meaning of Aboriginal objects held in museums.
Cardinal skilfully layers compelling interviews, striking imagery and rare footage of master carvers as they create a replica pole. The Haisla have fulfilled a promise to the museum to replace the original totem. Now, having honoured their end of the bargain, they await the return of the G'psgolox pole.