Lesson 4
Totem Poles Tell Our Story

This lesson will utilize the knowledge learned from the first three lessons. Provide brief background information on the uses and myths of totem poles.
http://www.totem-pole.net/index.html
Ask what animals the students see in the following three examples and what they may symbolize.

George Gulli Jr.

Picture
Show sample of wood carved totem pole by artist George Gulli Jr.

http://www.gullitotempoles.com/

Ed Galloway

Picture
Show sample of totem pole made of concrete over scrap metal & sandstone rock skeleton by artist Ed Galloway.

http://www.route66university.com/bios/galloway_e.php

Richard Hunt

Picture
Show sample of small totem pole made from bronze by artist Richard Hunt.

http://www.galleriasilecchia.com/Hunt/index.html

Create your totem pole

Have the students sketch out ideas for their totem poles. Have them decide if they want to portray their immediate family or their closest friends. Remind them that they need to choose a minimum of three animals for their totem poles. Once they have chosen their animals and placements, provide clay and carving materials, as well as paints to colorize symbolically. Completed projects will be presented to the class with descriptions of why they chose the animals they did and what the are trying to symbolize. Class critique will include the question of how effective the student was in portraying their symbols.