“Can you handle two more rocks?” Old Hands asks. Sitting cross-legged in the dirt in a sweat-soaked T-shirt, I’m pleasantly hypnotized by the rhythm of a drumbeat. “Bring them on,” I tell the medicine ...

Members of the public take part in a blessing of the Lummi Nation totem pole in San Leandro, California, on June 3. The House of Tears Carvers toured the pole around the West Coast before embarking on ...

"Can you handle two more rocks?" Old Hands asks. Sitting cross-legged in the dirt in a sweat-soaked T-shirt, I'm pleasantly hypnotized by the rhythm of a drumbeat. "Bring them on," I tell the medicine ...

For the House of Tears Carvers, totem poles are more than masterful works of art – they’re a medium for storytelling, for raising consciousness, for healing. The group of artisans from the Lummi ...

This salmon is carved from cedar. But it still travels. The totem pole, the work of Native carvers, is part of the Spirit of the Waters journey to the Snake River in Idaho, making stops in communities ...

Totem poles have become a symbol of Seattle, but it turns out they have nothing to do with the Coast Salish people of the Northwest. Now there is a growing movement to right the cultural wrongs done ...

Introduction to Alaska's totems: Totem people -- Importance of cedar -- Carving a totem pole -- Early totem sightings -- Golden age of totem poles -- Devastating changes -- Symbol of the Pacific ...