This is a classic work on the Kwakiutl (KWAH-kee-oo-tel) and other Northwest Coast (NWC) Indian tribes and features artifacts displayed at the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology. NWC Indian art was functionally adapted to perform a task or to convey a message. Adaptation and continuity, tradition and change, are the hallmarks of the history and the culture of the Kwakiutl. They along with the Haida, Tlinglit, Tsimshian, and Coast Salish formed the culture area of the NWC Indian tribes who inhabited a long narrow ocean shoreline that stretched 1200 miles from Yakutat Bay to the Olympic Peninsula.

Mungo Martin was prominent in the formation of this collection. Martin (Indian name: Naka'penkem) was a full participant in the Kwakiutl ceremonial system. His expertise was critical in the separation of true Kwakiutl art from the fake. He also brought attention to the fact many NWC Indian artifacts and totem poles were destroyed by over-zealous missionaries who considered them pagan idols and that the remainder were and are eroding due to the humid weather endemic in the Pacific NW.

NWC Indians were highly developed builders of totem poles, canoes, masks, and elegantly decorated plank houses. Unlike the Plains Indians, they were able to porduce a rich variety of art as they were freed from a constant search for food. About 85% of the food consumed by these coastal people came from the ocean and rivers, the products of which were smoked and preserved for the long wet winters. Deer, Elk, and Bear were also plentiful throughout the forested areas. Thus, an affluent and highly developed society came into existence.

The Kwakiutl ornamented their bodies with tattoos, fiber capes with button decorations, and intricately carved heraldic crests. They were fine looking people with coppery/reddish colored hair, beards and moustaches. They and the Haida were considered the most skilled woodcarvers on the NW coast. The Kwakiutl built long wooden houses facing the sea without the use of saws, axes, or nails. The fronts of the houses were often painted in bright colors of black, red, and blue-green.

By the 1800s, the Kwakiutl began creating richly painted and very tall totem poles. The totems represented important events in a chief's life, illustrated through the use of crest figures piled one above the other throughout the length of the pole. The totems fronted houses and were initially designed as support for the buildings. Totems were also erected as memorials showing family lineages (either paternal or maternal), mortuary purposes, or to serve as an entrance to a house by carving a hole near the base of the pole for use as a doorway.

The three-dimensional carvings on the poles were emphasized by the flat painting behind them and by the pattern of cedar planking held in place by thongs or pegs made of antler and wood. Certain animals were used on totems to tell a story if they bore a close relationship with the people in a clan. Their power was expressed in the forceful paintings and carvings on the poles. Totems were an important part of the Kwakiutl rank sustem as the order of the symbols proclaimed the status of an individual or of the group which owned and displayed the pole.

A variety of woods were used for carving. Yew, Maple, Hemlock, Alder, Red and Yellow Cedar. Kwakiutl carvers made their own tools from stone, elk horn, nephrite, shell and subsequently steel. Creating his own tools gave each carver a broad base of competence and familiarity and enabled him to create lovely and unique art objects identifiable from those created by other carvers. Close integration of a master woodcarver with his society was a notable characteristic of NWC Indian culture.

Kwakiutl masks were outstanding examples of woodcarving. They were beautifully shaped and painted and adorned with feather and hair decorations. The masks were worn in special religious ceremonies by dancers who sang and spoke of myths handed down within families. Masks were imaginative, even farcical, with multiple parts, several heads, movable lower jaws, beaks and wings, all of which helped to heighten the drama of a potlatch (gift) ceremony. There were also transformation masks wherein the outer form might be an animal representing a human face which could be exposed when the dancer pulled a string. In this way, the NWC Indian belief that animals were humans in other forms could be visually represented.

No two masks were alike although they might represent the same spirit such as the mountain goat, grizzly bear, killer whale, or raven. All of these animals (beings) were believed to have mystical qualities thus connecting the wearer with the power of the supernatural beings the masks represented. Religious concepts and practices were inseperable from the social and economic realities of the Kwakiutl and other NWC Indians. Most of them recognized many supernatural beings or minor deities, who appeared the in the form of animals. The Kwakiutl could contact certain spirits if they had previously established the right to do so as they saw themselves surrounded by a multitude of animal spirits, most of them unfriendly. It was the job of the shaman to establish contact, placate hostile spirits, and to praise the friendly ones.

The continuity of the Kwakiutl culture is best illustrated by its extraordinary artifacts. Each work of Kwakiutl art fits within a specific cultural framework. This book will foster a readers' appreciation of these unique and very artistic people, their culture, and their beautiful creations.

This is an outstanding book not only for children but for adults also. I have 4 children from ages 9-15 and they all greatly enjoyed and loved this book! Highly recommended!

Compared to most marine picture pictures, this one does a much better job than average in telling the history of an era. The captions are the books strength, and generally run for a few paragraphs. This is a good book if you would like to get a feeling of what it was like to live near or work on the water in the Pacific Northwest in the period from the late 1800s up to WWII

If you love stories that are based on humanity and the trials and triumphs of life, but most of all you just love a good read, then don't pass this book up. Helen Forrester is so perceptive to human nature, but her true talent is expressing it through her characters, making them live in your mind. This story is based in Liverpool, but you really become enveloped in the rich Basque culture. What this family experiences through the Great Depression, WW2 and beyond made me appreciate their lives, and my own. Truly, my words can't justify the greatness of this book. I also highly recommend Ms. Forrester's own accounts of her childhood and youth growing up painfully poor in Liverpool - they are truly stunning.

Living Freight is a very good book. I liked reading about Emma and how she faced her hardships. I found it interesting that Emma went from living on the streets of Manchester to a good home overseas, where she found quite a surprise!

I became familiar with Robert Thurman through a tape set "On Tibet" which I borrowed from my school library. His lecturing style is entertaining and actually very funny at times--not just humorous but actually FUNNY--I found myself laughing out loud in my car! So if you're into buddhism, I think it's worth it just for the humor. This set has some very nice guided meditations: one on the certainties of death,etc., and the other about the concept of regarding all beings as your mothers. He talks about our unenlightened society and what we can do to change it--again, some of his opinions are hilarious! There is some enlightening talk about the nature of emptiness--you can never get enough of that.

Thurman talks quite a bit about buddhist mythology, perhaps moreso than most authors...if you're interested in the stories, the myths, the miracles, etc., then you'll enjoy his storytelling. As it was pointed out in the editor's review, there are many digressions and sometimes it takes a little work to figure out where he's going, but for me, that's part of the fun.

It is something you'll probably want to listen to several times, and for the price, you can't go wrong with 4 lecture tapes from a great teacher like Dr Thurman. Also recommended are the Dalai Lama's four-tape sets...lectures on The Four Noble Truths and The Eight Verses on Training the Mind.

Excellent book discussing the size, coloring, range and habitat of all species found in WA, Oregon, Idaho, and B.C. Yes its from 1975 but the information is still pretty accurate for anyone trying to identify an animal and makes a useful reference for research. A must own for any field zoologist in the northwest.

I own several of the mobil travel books and I have found them very useful. I have tried some of their restaurant recommendations and places to visit and I have been very happy with the results. Try, other Mobil travel guides too.

Clear and precise trail descriptions. Maps are well done and easy to follow. The number of rides in the book will provide one with years of riding.

comprehensive, well organized and a must for any visit to the northwest. highly recommended as a basic source reference or as a travel supplement