July 21 2022—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 11
totem pole is raised in Opitsaht
ness the raising of Hinaaqsuuq#a, named after a past Tla-o-qui-aht ‘truth-speaking orator’
os by Melissa Renwick
The totem pole is supported by a group of men from behind, as it is pulled up with three ropes.
“It’s something that hasn’t been public before” ~ Francis Martin “It’s something that hasn’t been public before,” he said. “People would carve and [a totem pole] would just appear.” Martin said he wanted to involve as many people as he could to make it accessible in hopes of inspiring others to carve totem poles of their own. Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation Natural Resources Manager Saya Masso lives in the house adjacent to where the totem pole was raised. “It’s an honour to see the revival of our culture and the beautification of our village,” he said. “Seeing our artisans do this and be proud and lift up our village – it’s just an honour.” Masso’s mother, Barb Audet, echoed his sentiment and said she hopes to see more families place totem poles in front
of their homes. By practicing their culture, Audet said it teaches children who they are and instils them with pride. “I hope that our children will be able to look at this and be proud of it,” she said. Four skulls were carved into the lower mid-section of the totem pole by Gisele. One represents the most recent COVID-19 pandemic, another symbolizes past pandemics Nuu-chah-nulth peoples have endured, including smallpox and tuberculosis, the third skull honours all the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and the final skull recognizes all the children who never returned home from residential school, explained Martin. “Those children never made it back home – and that’s a fact,” said Martin. “Those are stories that our ancestors have told us for a long, long time and no one believed it for many years until they started finding these graves at residential schools.” As a residential school survivor, Frank said the raising of the pole was “emotional.” “I feel the need to support those that survived and those that didn’t survive,” he said. “I wouldn’t miss this day for anything
in the world.” The raising of the totem pole coincided with Canada Day. It served as a reminder to Frank that the government has not recognized National Indigenous Peoples Day as a statutory holiday. An apology isn’t good enough, he said.
Francis Martin unties the rope for the totem pole’s unveiling. “They’ve got to start acknowledging who we are and whose land they took away,” Frank said. Indigenous people were so “overwhelmingly assimilated and colonized,” he said. It’s a legacy that continues to haunt Frank, who has spent his life living with painful memories from his time attending the Alberni Indian Residential School in Port Alberni. “I’m glad Joe [Martin] is doing this to make us realize our culture is still very much alive,” he said. “That’s why I’m here.”
