Northwest Coast

Red Cedar Wood

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Don Yeoman’s Raven & Frog Totem Pole demonstrates the artist’s mastery of cedar wood, particularly in his depth of carving. Yeoman’s decision to leave the pole unpainted serves to utilize a more minimalist approach and highlight the rich beauty of the wood.

Cedar wood is strong, lightweight, and extremely versatile. These qualities lend well to carving, and result in a wood that can be used to create a wide variety of objects.

The Raven is regarded as the Hero, Creator, Transformer, and the most important of all creatures to the coastal First Nations peoples. He is also known as the Trickster because of his wit and sense of humor. His legendary antics were often motivated by insatiable greed, and he loved to tease, to cheat, to woo and to trick. In the oral traditions of the Northwest Coast, Raven is credited with releasing the Sun, and creating the Moon, Stars and the Universe. In Haida culture, Raven is also said to have discovered mankind in a clamshell.

Frogs symbolize new life, good fortune, stability, and communication. They are associated with great wealth and prosperity. As a creature that lives both in water and on land, the Frog is revered for its adaptability, knowledge, and ability to inhabit both natural and supernatural realms. Frogs are the primary spirit helpers of shamans, usually representing the common ground or voice of the people. As a prominent sharer of knowledge, Frog is often shown in artistic depictions as touching its tongue to another figure in an expression of sharing.