Totem Poles of the Gitksan, Upper Skeena River, British Columbia - 1973

"This monograph on the totem poles of one of the three Tsimsyan nations—the Gitksan—is the first of a series that will eventually cover the complete ethnography of the Tsimsyan and will embrace their social organization, history, mythology, and aesthetic arts. The following description and analysis of totem poles is restricted to one of the several nations of the North West Coast that are known to have practised the art of carving and erecting tall wooden memorials to their dead. Yet the scope of our study is implicitly wider, since the art of the Gitksan is merely a local variation upon a theme that is, in geography and history, more comprehensive. Our conclusions and comparisons for this reason are bound to shed some light on the growth and expansion of this aboriginal art on the whole North West Coast, and to invite the readers' attention to the problem of diffusion of culture all around the rim of the Pacific ocean.." - Totem Poles of the Gitksan, Upper Skeena River, British Columbia - Marius Barbeau. Canada Department of Mines. Bulletin No. 61 Printed 1973 (fascimile of 1929 ed.), National Museum of Man : National Museums of Canada Softcover. Approx. 6x9in. 275pp. In good vintage condition.