Epcot’s Canada Pavilion recently had two new totem poles installed.
The new totems were created by Tsimshian artisan David Boxley who had created a totem pole for the Trading Post in the 1990s.
One of the new totems, the Eagle Totem, tells a story “in which a boy finds an eagle caught in a net on a beach and frees it. Years later, when hunger strikes the boy’s tribe, he walks on the same beach, only to find the eagle there waiting for him with food – paying him back for his kindness years ago.”
The Whale Totem Pole tells the story of the first potlach which is a ceremonial feast “celebrated by the Nagunaks and creatures of the undersea world.”
The new totem poles were dedicated over the weekend and the ceremony included a performance by the Git Hoan Dancers.
