| Page Thirty

British Columbia Indian Legends and
Plastic Arts By Sybil Hill

E knew much more of both subjects after hearing Mr. Barbeau’s

lectures at the U. B. C. last fall. Mr. Barbeau is a French-Canadian

it} who has spent considerable time in research work among the Coast
ait Indians. Legends not yet published—customs in pot latch ceremonies—
| totem lore—tribal customs—all interested him deeply; and the results of
his study were summed up in his lectures. ]

That the art of the North-west Coast Indians, including those of the
fH Queen Charlotte Islands, Prince of Wales Island, and Skeena and Nass
River, far excelled that of the more Southern tribes he had no doubt.
Haida, Cleicut, Bella Coola, Bella Bella, Nootka, T’Simpsian—he charac-
terized each and demonstrated each type with the aid of lantern slides.
The Cleicut and T’Simpsian were the most naturalistic in their design
forms. The Haidas were highly stylized artists—and proceeding further
south the forms became exaggerated and developed into monstrous beings.’
i Their designs are found, painted on wood, leather, and garments of all
Hl HE | | kinds, in weaving, and in wood-carving. Essentially practical in use—
Py | | the Indian art did not survive the influx of white man’s utensils. So that
H ETE while their artists are still decorating a few totems and ceremonial dresses,
EEL fi the work now produced is very inferior to that of the earlier pioneer days.
Va Practically all of the finest and best designs have been collected by
Ht museums and owners outside of B. C. or else destroyed in religious fervors:
by the Indians themselves. Three entire Indian villages have been”
destroyed to rid themselves of their paganism, since 1915. The few
ti} remaining pieces in B. C. are rapidly being taken out of the country and_
ea sold. ;
Vaal The totem pole, perhaps the most interesting phase of West Coast |
i art, is a memorial erected in honour of a deceased chieftain, some years

| after his death. It is usually erected by the nephew of the chief, and
bears the erector’s crest. The Haida totems have both the father’s and >

mother’s crests, but this is not true of the T’Simpsian Indian, whose totem

represents the father’s crest only. Strange myths are built around the
PH origin of each “family” and each totem tells a tale of its own. The artists)
aaa rarely copied one another’s designs. It was a point of honor and crafts-
aa manship to make each totem an entirely original design.

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} | In its final analysis, Mr. Barbeau’s purpose in lecturing as he did

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