Native American Symbolic Rituals Three Pronged Symbolic System of the Totem Pole, Potlatch and Tamanawas Dance

The people who originally migrated to the North American continent came here tens of thousands of years ago. They brought with them many different customs such as the ability to move quickly from one place to another, a love of the Earth that they inhabited, and a reverence for life. These people became what are now termed Native Americans. Native because they were settled here thousands of years before people from any other location came here. The different groups that crossed the land bridge from Siberia moved down the coast and spread out to different inland locations as they moved. Some settled along the Western coast of Canada and the United States and developed traditions that have remained through the millennia. Among those traditions are the construction of totems, the ceremony of the potlatch, and the dances, especially the tamanawas, that are associated with it. These three are linked together in a belief that supports community and giving. This paper offers an explanation of the three customs along with the reasons why the United States and Canada outlawed the celebration of the potlatch.

Totem Pole

The website "Legends of America" describes a totem pole as "the symbol of a tribe, clan, family or individual. Native American tradition provides that each individual is connected with nine different animals that will accompany each person through life, acting as guides." These symbols of personal guides can be found throughout the Pacific Northwest in both Canada and the United States. The reason people built the poles was to remind them of who was watching over them. To the native American tribes, these animals had a spirit that wanted to connect with their brothers the humans. Sometimes the animals gave up their spirits to provide sustenance, but mostly the...

It is said that "Different animal guides come in and out of our lives depending on the direction that we are headed and the tasks that need to be completed along our journey" (Legends of America). However, there is one animal on the totem pole that represents the individual or tribal totem. This is the animal that is with the person throughout their physical and spiritual lives.
Potlatch

The Potlatch is a ceremony that was considered the largest of the Northwest Native Americans many ceremonies. It was a gathering of tribes and relatives from many miles around to a specific place, so that everyone could see each other and exchange gifts. The giving of gifts in this instance was not the same as the exchange that takes place at Christmas; it was a redistribution of the wealth that people had enjoyed throughout the year. This was a celebration of life, and it was kept in strict accordance to the spiritual laws of the people. From the U'Mista Cultural Society it is said "We dance to celebrate life, to show we are grateful for all our treasures. We must dance to show our history, since our history is always passed on in songs and dances." The Potlatch is a time of celebration for what has been given to the people, a time of reunion between people who have not seen each other during the rest of the year, and it is also a time when people remember their heritage.

Tamanawas

The dances of the potlatch were termed Tamanawas. These were ceremonial more than just dances of passion or enjoyment, but there were those also. The dances signified many different things to the people watching them and the people participating, and different dances were normally performed by different bands of the tribes. The dances were a storyboard by which people could express the beginnings of their band, but sometimes they were also performed as an…