Featured ANAC Souvenir Totem Pole

I am hoping someone might recognize the carver of this totem pole. 14 1/2", unpainted, looks like cedar. No signature anywhere that I can find.

There is a hole drilled in the base which held a folded up mimeographed sheet explaining that it is a version of a Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw (Kwakiutl) Thunderbird pole at Alert Bay. Unfortunately the paper does not credit a particular carver.

I have found that ANAC stands for the Alaska Native Arts and Crafts Association or Cooperative. They adopted the logo trademark that appears on the paper in 1949, and have continued to exist in some form at least up until 1984. Based on the use of the mimeograph, I would place the date of this pole somewhere in the mid twentieth century.

All comments or suggestions welcomed.

 

these two famous Alert Bay poles have been copied by native and non native artists alike .
They are of the most reproduced designs for tourist Model Poles among all NWC poles , up and down the coast , so it is no wonder even Alaskan artists have used their designs.

It's a shame that ANAC does not mention ... genuine native made , but only made in Alaska !

Worse even that no artist is identified , but that speaks to a workshop where several native artists , using a traditional straight blade , carved these out at breakneck speed for the growing tourist market ! ( being unpainted also suggests they worked from black and white photo's of original poles )

That said..... the carving is better than the designs on it , but still a handsome , nice sized model pole circa , I would think from the late 1960's thru 70's.......

Knowing who carved this pole......... is just not possible.... imo !

 

Xerox machines were introduced in 1973 so would think not much later as they were much improved technology.

Debora

 

Sorry I'm taking this off on a tangent but what a blast from the past! How well I remember that purple ink of the mimeograph from my Catholic elementary school days in the late 60s/early 70s. Whenever the nun passed out freshly mimeographed worksheets, everyone would hold them to their noses... that smell...!

 

I found an interesting history of ANAC, that summarizes its purpose this way -



https://library.alaska.gov/hist/hist_docs/docs/asl_E78_A3_K74_1984.pdf

The document explains the development and changes in the organization over time, but it was always working with Native people.

 

When I started at a small non-profit organization in 1983 they still had a spirit duplicator (mimeograph) sitting next to a photocopier of a type I had never seen before. The whole top moved, carrying the original across a stationary scanner, instead of the scanner moving while the original stays still. I can well imagine that a Native artists' cooperative might not have the latest tech.

 

Good point.

Debora

 

I've got another example of a very similar info sheet, with the ANAC logo - it describes a different totempole, but the paragraph about possible "outside" counterfeits is identical. I'd date mine, by George Mather Sr, Tsimshian, carving in Anchorage, to around 1960-65. I'd think 1960-70 is a good guess for OP's native carving of a famous Alert Bay totempole, but the style doesn't suggest any particular carver to me.

 

Thank you, @all_fakes.