Now Is the Time

After totem poles were denigrated as pagan by Christian missionaries and the cultural practices of Indigenous people were outlawed by the Canadian government, the Haida village of Masset, British Columbia, lost its traditional artform. Until a young man named Robert Davidson decided to revive the woodcarvers’ art, first making a totem pole and then orchestrating a potlatch, the ceremonial raising of a totem pole, in 1969 — the first in living memory. This is an inspiring documentation of a community’s spiritual restoration and a reflection on cultural vulnerability and resilience.