Totem Land (1927)

Overview

A look at the Kwakiutl Indians of north Vancouver Island, prolific totem carvers. At Fort Rupert, George Hunt, in headress, carves a totem pole with an adze. He and his wife, in headband and blanket and an authority on traditional medicine and religion, perform a ritualistic dance. They are joined by other Indians in the dance which includes the use of ceremonial masks, drums, and rattles. Concert soprano and student of Indian lore, Juliette Gaultier de la Vérendrye, observes and practices the drums and chants. Mrs. Hunt is also seen making baskets, digging for clams, and gathering wild rice and carrots. Lucy Moor and her husband John Monkey arrive in a dugout canoe. Exceptional footage: commemorative totems at Fort Rupert, and a profile shot of Lucy Moon whose head is unnaturally elongated as a result of childhood binding