Series of Haida Mortuary poles from SGang Gwaay photographed by Charles F. Newcombe in 1901. The third pole from the left was taken down in 1957 and held at the University of British Columbia and the Museum of Anthropology. In 2009 it was taken down from the Great Hall in the Museum of Anthropology and placed into massive carving storage in preparation for repatriation to the Haida nation.
Subseries consists of records collected or created by Don Bain during the course of his Massive Carvings Documentation Project. This project took place in the early to mid 1990s. The Massive Carvings Documentation Project was intended to compile information directly related to the poles and massive carvings in the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) collection into a set of Totem Pole Files. The Totem Pole Files were intended to be accessible to MOA staff, volunteers, students, and the general public. The subseries is divided into two sub subseries:
Image of a totem pole on Anthony Island, Haida Gwaii. This appears to be a pole now housed at the Museum of Anthropology (museum item #A50018). This museum item is described as follows: "Base section of a wooden pole, crescent-shaped in cross section and carved in shallow and deep relief. From the top down: a large seated bear with a small wolf between and in its ears and a downward facing frog emerging from the bear’s mouth. In between its arms and legs is a downward facing wolf... Stood outside at the center of the Mountain House, which belonged to the lineage of 'Those Born in the Southern Part of the Islands' of the Eagle Moiety of the Kunghit Haida. Stood near the centre of the village facing the beach along a small bay on the east side of Anthony Island. Island and village also called Skunggwai, or Red Cod Island."
