Kwanusila
Encyclopedia
Totem pole
Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...
carved from red cedar
Thuja plicata
Thuja plicata, commonly called Western or pacific red cedar, giant or western arborvitae, giant cedar, or shinglewood, is a species of Thuja, an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae native to western North America...
. It stands in Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park is an urban park in Chicago, which gave its name to the Lincoln Park, Chicago community area.Lincoln Park may also refer to:-Urban parks:*Lincoln Park , California*Lincoln Park, San Francisco, California...
at Addison Street just east of Lake Shore Drive
Lake Shore Drive
Lake Shore Drive is a mostly freeway-standard expressway running parallel with and alongside the shoreline of Lake Michigan through Chicago, Illinois, USA. Except for the portion north of Foster Avenue , Lake Shore Drive is designated as part of U.S...
in the Lake View neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The colorfully painted totems include a grimacing sea monster
Sea monster
Sea monsters are sea-dwelling mythical or legendary creatures, often believed to be of immense size.Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or multi-armed beasts. They can be slimy or scaly and are often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water...
at the bottom, a man riding a whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
above it, and Kwanusila the Thunderbird
Thunderbird (mythology)
The Thunderbird is a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a "supernatural" bird of power and strength...
on top.
History
Its sculptor was Tony HuntTony Hunt (artist)
Tony Hunt is a Canadian First Nations artist of Kwakwaka'wakw ancestry noted for his work carving totem poles.He was born in 1942 at the Kwakwaka'wakw community of Alert Bay, British Columbia. He received early training from his maternal grandfather Mungo Martin...
, the chief of the Kwagu'ł tribe in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, as a 1986 replacement for the totem pole that stood at the site since 1929. That pole, which was carved by Tony Hunt's ancestor, the ethnologist George Hunt
George Hunt (ethnologist)
George Hunt was a Tlingit consultant to the anthropologist Franz Boas who through his contributions is considered a linguist and ethnologist in his own right...
, had been donated to the city by cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
baron
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
James L. Kraft
James L. Kraft
James Lewis Kraft was a Canadian-American entrepreneur and inventor. Born near Stevensville, Ontario in Canada to Mennonite parents, George and Minerva Tripp Kraft, he was the first to patent processed cheese...
, the founder of Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
. The 1929 pole had suffered from poor maintenance, weathering and vandalism over the years, and was sent to the Museum of Anthropology
Museum of Anthropology at UBC
The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia campus in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is renowned for its displays of world arts and cultures, in particular works by First Nations peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations...
at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
in 1985 for study and conservation.