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TOTEMS Of AUsliA
A few hours after arriving at Ketchikan, August 4th, on the SS. Yukon we sailed for the West Coast of Southern Alaska to make color motion pictures of Alaska natives, deserted Indian villages and tribal and family totems of the various Alaska Indian tribes. Any little bay, cove or Indian or fishing village is home as we cruise among the many islands and numerous waterways of the Alaska coast, aboard the '"Ranger Nine."
Having spent the summers of '37 and '38 making motion pictures of Alaska scenery and glaciers and Alaska big game there was some doubt that totems would hold
much interest. Our cruise of the past ten days is convincing, however, that the assignment to cover the totem story will be the most fascinating of them all.
Beyond the boundaries of Alaska Territory few know that the first statue of Abraham Lincoln was carved by the native Alaska Indians . . . the Abraham Lincoln totem now located at Saxman, near Ketchikan. Slave traffic once flourished among the Indian tribes of Alaska. About the time of the freeing of the negro slaves, the Indians of Southeast Alaska also set free their slaves. In commemoration a totem was carved, the surmounting figure being
By Joseph Yolo
that of Abraham Lincoln, dressed in top hat and frock coat. The Indians had become acquainted with Abraham Lincoln through information brought them by the early traders.
Totems are not objects of worship by the members of the various Alaska Indian tribes. They are recordings of tribal and family history, and are also used as markers for the graves of the departed.
Before Alaska became a possession of the United States no native who was "Somebody" erected a totem without first placing in the excavation a tightly bound, living slave. If the tribesman were one
The New Howkan Eagle at Hydaburg, Alaska. Standing beside it is John Wallace, the Indian mentioned in the text, with Joseph Yolo behind camera "shooting" in Cinecolor.
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