Meseadlgeit ae 9s Jeet leaned Local totem pole carvers share tradition and stories . with tourists at the Quay MARK GEORGE is sneaking up on an elderly woman with a long-handled axe raised above his head. The woman’s husband tries not to smile as he focuses his cam- era on the pair during a sunny July day at Lonsdale News photo by ike Wakolield "MARK GEORGE, of the Burrard band, and Squamish Nation carver Al Natrall (with cap) atiract a .-. Crowd at the Lonsdaie Quay Market while they werk on a 30-foot (9 m) yellow cedar totem pole. The carvers — who do as much entertaining as they do carving — will be working on the pole through the summer at the Quay. The story of the totem pole TOTEM POLES are: used. as ‘signboards, genealogical records and. memorials by Northwest Coast Indian tribes. Crests carved ‘on poles are lineage property and “tell “the history of a family’s fineage, much like European fami- dy trees, «. The’ following is, the story told by the 30-foot yellow cedar Mark George. is carving at North Van- couver City’s Lonsdale Quay: “The sun is the source of power from which all:things must draw energy. She shines on Mother Earth, who in turn blooms to give us food and shelter. “The eagle is a much. loved brother and guardian of our peo- ple: at funerals of our relations the eagle appears to guide the spirit to the other side. “When a chief or elder dies a mature eagle will sit close by, or if a young person has died then a young eagle will cirle overhead. “Our once remote inlet was always visited by the killer whale, or blackfish. “When our late Chief Wauk- 193 TROOPER #1 SPORT UTILITY °93 SATURN SL THE VALUE LEADER. AM/FM STEREO, INT. WIPERS, TILT, AIR BAG, PLUS MANY MORE “FEATURES. VALUE AIR COND. POWER WINDOWS, LOCKS, CRUISE, ALLOY WHEELS & MORE MORE. $11 645 ONLY 93 SATURN SL2 NORTH AMERICA’S BEST VALUE IN A SPORT SEDAN, D.0.H.C. ENGINE, 5 SPEED, AIR BAG, 4 DOOR, AM/FM CASS. & LOTS $14,545 ony Sauk was carried from the Belcarra’ Village to his resting place on the North Shore by canoe, the blackfish swam at its side as escorts. “The greeting person is symbol- ic of our ancestors who greeted some of the first explorers of the West Coast; Spanish, English, Russians and others were greeted with open arms. The bear roamed through the lands with our ancestors and fish- ed for salmon that sustained their tives.” SAAB 9000 CSE RECENT ARRIVAL. ONE OF THE FINEST LUXURY CARS EVER PRODUCED. COME IN AND FIND QUT ABOUT EUROPE’S BEST KEPT SECRET. '92 SPACECAB 4X4 4 WHEEL DISC BRAKES, ABS, AM/FM CASS.! FULLY EQUIPPED $14,995 * ALL PRICES INCLUDING FREIGHT and P.D.I. MORREY IS COMMITTED TO GIVING YOU MORE VALUE AND MORE SELECTION!!! Quay’s seaside plaza. This is not murder. Just a little premeditated humor. George, a Burrard band carver, is wielding axes, knives and chisels all summer long at the Quay as he ‘transforms a 30-foot (9.1 m) yellow cedar log into a work of art. . He’s also entertaining the tourists who congregate around his makeshift outdoor studio — a long canopy shading him and fellow carver Al Natrall from the summer sun. ‘Part of the deal here is that I am accessible to visitors to answer questions about the carving and totem poles,’’ George says duving a brief break in his performance. George is part P.T. Barnum, part native carver. His summer job is to carve and paint a totem pole that the management of Lonsdale Quay hope to display in the Quay’s plaza in September. When the story-telling piece of art is completed — Sept. 5 is the target date — George will have two carved totem poles. The first, a 20-foot (6.09 m) pole standing on the Burrard In- “A CREED ATION “4877 ‘Marine Dilve, N. Van. 2370 West 41st Ave. - _ Squamish 892- ‘S657. By A.P. McCredie News Reporter dian Reserve in North Vancouver District, was finished earlier this year. His first attempt took 4% months, The Lonsdale Quay pole — 10 feet taller — will take two months, : “Sometimes it feels like’ we don’t get much work done on the pole with all the people asking questions,’’ says George, ‘‘but we're on schedule still.” At one point, George stops our interview to tell an American fasn- ily about an 80-year-old chisel he is using to carve the cedar, : “It was my grandfather’s, then my father’s,’ George tells a wide-eyed boy. ‘You can’t find chisels like this anymore.” Although the traditional totem pole is a Haida art form, both the Squamish and. Burrard people once used smaller stumps of. carv- ed cedar as village and hut markers. : “My people travelled all the See Totem page 24 nr eatery eres