Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the making and raising of the Reconciliation Pole (2017) by Haida chief 7idansuu (James Hart). Through its materiality, figurative forms and narrative, this unique pole invites us to bear witness to the traumatic history of colonialism in a move toward reconciliation.

Paper long abstract:

Totem poles are an archetypal symbol of Indigenous Northwest Coast culture. They are bearers of oral histories and genealogies as well as commemorative markers of past events and deceased individuals. Despite their rootedness, these red cedar giants have been collected by museums, from the nineteenth century to the present. Initially they were perceived through the lens of salvage ethnography, which predicted that culture contact and colonialism, with its assimilationist drive, would eradicate Indigenous culture. But First Nations refused to allow their heritage to 'disappear'. From the second half of the twentieth century, totem poles and other cultural forms have been at the centre of an Indigenous resurgence, which includes assertion of rights to land and self-determination; cultural revitalization and repatriation; decolonizing histories and reconciliation. The 64-foot high Reconciliation Pole (2015--17) by Haida chief and master carver 7idansuu (James Hart) exemplifies these currents. In material form, iconography and performativity, the Reconciliation Pole invites visitors to witness the history of the Indian Residential School system, devised to 'kill the Indian in the child'. For example, 6000 copper nails hammered into the Pole's residential school represent the number of Indigenous children who died in these institutions---a nail for each child. To bear witness is an important aspect of First Nations' ceremonial life. Witnessing is grounded in an ethics of responsibility, to observe, reflect and actively remember. 7idansuu's invitation for us to witness the Reconciliation Pole encourages us to adopt an ethical stance as engaged citizens to acknowledge past injustices and move toward respectful futures.