Pole position: Tribal carver repeats history again

Kevin Paul is helping history repeat itself a second time.

Nearly 30 years ago, before he became a nationally renowned carver featured on the Discovery Channel, Paul joined family members in creating a replica of the famed Swinomish totem pole unveiled as part of a major Washington State Centennial celebration on the local reservation.

These days Paul is serving as lead craftsman and mentor to two of his former La Conner High carving students charged with refurbishing the weathered pole, whose symbols help tell the stories and reflect the spiritual values of those whose descendants now reside at Swinomish.

One side of the pole is devoted to the history of the Samish Tribe, the other to that of the Swinomish.

The significance of the task at hand is not lost on Paul, a Swinomish Tribal Senator, who recalls his photograph applying finishing touches to the 60-foot-plus cedar pole appearing in the old Channel Town Press in 1989.

Its unveiling in May of that year drew a crowd of more than 500 people, including then-Washington State First Lady Jean Gardner, who served as Centennial Committee co-chair.

Of the current project, Paul says, “It’s going to look great when it’s done.”

To that end, no detail has gone unattended. Paul has been in constant consultation with experts to line up paints ideally suited to withstand the daily impact of salt air.

Joining him in the work has been Nakiya Edwards and Zanetta Cayou, who previously studied under Paul at La Conner High.

“They’re doing really well,” Paul says. “They have other jobs, but they can usually work from nine in the morning until noon on the days they’re free.”

The Edwards name is forever linked to the Swinomish totem pole.

It was master carver Charlie Edwards, descended from a long line of Samish canoe builders and wood crafters, who was enlisted to direct the carving of the original pole in 1938.

This followed passage of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, which ushered in a period of cultural and economic revitalization on Swinomish Reservation.

A key development in that regard was federal allocation to Swinomish of Works Progress Administration (WPA) funding to provide amenities for the tribal community.

The Swinomish totem pole, fashioned by Edwards as a monument to Northwest Native Americans, was among those amenities. Others included the athletic field later named for fallen World War II veteran John K. Bob and the former American Hall community center.

The WPA was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration, employing mil-lions of people during the Great Depression, including musicians, artists, writers, and actors.

The program had a positive impact at Swinomish, a point confirmed by Edwards’ daughter-in-law, the late “Grandma Laura” Edwards, when she reminisced in the 1980s about the initial totem pole’s carving.

“It was during the time of WPA,” she told CTP, “and other than that it was hard for our men to find work. He (FDR) treated the Indian people well.”

So it was that Charlie Edwards carved atop the pole a likeness of FDR, said to be in appreciation of the president’s role in making infrastructure improvements – such as construction of a model village and water system – possible on Swinomish Reservation.

Tribal Archivist and Records Manager Theresa Trebon, who has conducted exhaustive research and collected volumes of material from multiple sources on the subject, says the 1938 dedication of the Swinomish totem pole and ballfield garnered nationwide attention.

Superintendent of Indian Affairs John Collier participated, as did Mon Wallgren, still the only Washington state politician to have served as a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator and Governor.

Trebon says First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was invited, but was unable to attend the festivities. The First Family’s daughter, Anna Roosevelt Boettiger, represented the White House instead.

The event itself was covered by Life, the country’s widely circulated, first all-photographic news magazine.

“It was seen as one of the great success stories of the WPA,” says Trebon, noting an economic ripple effect across Swinomish Channel in La Conner, where the publicity generated tourist dollars from those wanting to see what was believed to be the only Native American totem pole bearing the image of a white man.

Eventually, based on a review of newspaper accounts of the time, speculation arose that the idea of the totem pole may have originated with the La Conner business community.

Be that as it may, the original totem pole stood until 1962, when it was lowered due to ant damage. Following restoration work it was raised again.

In 1981 it was taken down because of structural issues. The carved symbols were removed, restored, and displayed in the Tribal Social Services Building, where they remain today, an effort Paul says was largely undertaken by his uncle, Michael Paul, who took charge of carving the replica pole once funding was secured from the State Centennial panel in the late 1980s.

Kevin Paul says there is no firm deadline yet as to when the pole will be re-installed. The emphasis at present is to make sure it’s able to survive another 30 years of Pacific Northwest weather.

Paul hopes he can do the same.

“If I’m around,” he vows, looking ahead to the next round of restoration, “I’ll be involved.”