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Totem: Return and Renewal

In this follow-up to his 2003 film, Totem: the Return of the G'psgolox Pole, filmmaker Gil Cardinal documents the events of the final journey of the G'psgolox Pole as it returns home to Kitamaat and the Haisla people, from where it went missing in 1929.
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In this follow-up to his 2003 film, Totem: the Return of the G'psgolox Pole, filmmaker Gil Cardinal documents the events of the final journey of the G'psgolox Pole as it returns home to Kitamaat and the Haisla people, from where it went missing in 1929.

Arts Indigenous Peoples in Canada (First Nations and Métis) Visual Arts Foreign Countries All subjects
Indigenous Cinema
  • writer
    Gil Cardinal
  • director
    Gil Cardinal
  • narrator
    Gil Cardinal
  • editor
    Michel Lalonde
  • director of cinematography
    Daron Donahue
  • sound recordist
    Stan Jackson
    Don Howell
    Nathan Berry
  • original music
    Clode Hamelin
  • musician
    Clode Hamelin
    Michel Dubeau
  • sound editor
    Jerry Krepakevich
  • on-line
    Joe Owens
  • colourist
    Joe Owens
  • production coordinator
    Ginette D'Silva
    Faye Yoneda
  • totem pole project coordinator
    Brenda Duncan
  • production supervisor
    Mark Power
    Kelly Isaac
  • marketing manager
    Kelly Isaac
  • program administrator
    Darin Clausen
  • associate producer
    William Belcourt
  • producer
    Bonnie Thompson
  • executive producer
    Derek Mazur

Education

Ages 11 to 15

Study Guide

Guide 1

Notes

Before watching this film, ask students if they have ever lost or misplaced something of importance to them. Have them write about the experience in a journal. Lead a discussion about totem poles. Go to the Internet for more information on the meanings and history of the totem pole. Have students create their own totem pole choosing the appropriate representations. Display them. Students should submit a written explanation of their totem pole.

More educational content

Totem: Return and Renewal
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