gyảaGang (House Frontal Totem Pole)

Part of the frontal pole from the third house at the southwest end of K'uuna (Skedans) Village, Louise Island. Belonging to the Qagials qe’gawa-l Raven family, this pole, and the house named Na a’oga or “House Mother” that it fronted, were owned by a brother of the village chief. His wife became wealthy through the salvage of a sailing ship, and so was able to contribute to building this and another lineage house. Perhaps the figure at the pole’s base represents this wealthy woman or the ancestor after which the house was named. When the pole was purchased from its owner in 1957, it was shipped in three sections. K'uuna (Skedans) was abandoned in the 1880's and the house had apparently rotted away by the 1940's. The pole was collected during a joint salvage expedition by the University of British Columbia and the British Columbia Provincial Museum.

status

Figures are from historical narratives owned by clans of the house owner who belonged to the clan of 'Those Born at Qagials' of the Raven moiety, and probably of his wife, who belonged to the Eagle Moiety. This section may refer to the bear mother story or to that of a man of the bear crest who encountered a being with a dorsal fin.

Part of a larger wooden pole, now in three sections (parts a-c). The sections are all crescent shaped in cross section and carved in shallow and deep relief. This section (part a) depicts a sitting bear with ears missing and holding a male human. The man’s head covers the front of the bear's round nostrils and upturned mouth, and his hands rest on the bear’s paw and four claws. Between the bear's legs is a small bear-like face with a fin rising between erect ears.