Totem. The return of the G'psgolox pole / National Film Board of Canada presents ; director, Gil Cardinal ; narration script, Gil Cardinal ; producer, Bonnie Thompson, Jerry D. Krepakevich.

Format:

Video

Contributor:

Cardinal, Gil, film director, screenwriter.

Thompson, Bonnie, film producer.

Krepakevich, Jerry, film producer.

National Film Board of Canada, production company, distributor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Totem poles--British Columbia--Kitimat.

Totem poles.

Indian sculpture--British Columbia--Kitimat.

Indian sculpture.

Cultural property--Repatriation--British Columbia--Kitimat.

Cultural property.

Cultural property--Repatriation--Sweden.

Manners and customs.

Cultural property--Repatriation.

Haisla Nation--Social life and customs.

Haisla Nation.

Sweden.

British Columbia--Kitimat.

Genre:

Documentary films.

Nonfiction films.

Feature films.

Video recordings.

Physical Description:

1 streaming video file (70 min.) : digital, sound, color

polychrome

Other Title:

Return of the G'psgolox pole

Place of Publication:

[Montréal, Québec] : [Distributed by] National Film Board of Canada, [2018]

System Details:

System requirements: Firefox 4 and up; Safari 5.0 and up; Chrome version 21 and up; Internet Explorer 8 and up; Flash or HTML5 player.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

video file

Summary:

In 1929, the Haisla people of northwestern British Columbia returned from a fishing trip to find a 9-metre-high totem pole, known as the G'psgolox pole, severed at the base and removed from their village. The fate of the 19th-century pole remained unknown to the Haisla for over sixty years. Director Gil Cardinal reveals the Haisla's 1991 discovery of the pole in a Stockholm museum, where it is considered state property by the Swedish government. From the lush rainforest near Kitamaat Village, BC, to the National Museum of Ethnography in Sweden, the documentary traces the fascinating journey of the Haisla to reclaim the traditional mortuary pole. Bringing to light a powerful story of cultural rejuvenation, the film raises provocative questions about the ownership and meaning of Aboriginal objects held in museums. Cardinal skilfully layers compelling interviews, striking imagery and rare footage of master carvers as they create a replica pole. The Haisla have fulfilled a promise to the museum to replace the original totem. Now, having honoured their end of the bargain, they await the return of the G'psgolox pole.

Credits:

Editor/associate director, Marke Slipp ; director of cinematography, Daron Donahue ; original music, Clode Hamelin.

Notes:

Title from title frames.

Originally produced by: National Film Board of Canada, ©2003; previously released in 2004.

Description based on online resource; title from title frames (Docuseek2, viewed September 26, 2018).

Publisher Number:

nf-totem2 Docuseek2

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.