Beginning

The Chief narrates a story to a carver

The pole acts as a visual illustration. It narrates oral history. It displays important characters to evoke its meaning. These characters have family significance. All carvers must have an acute sense of oral history because they are ones who transfer the story onto the pole. After hearing the story, the carver begins to conceptualize the design while looking for the right tree.

Tree Selection

The carver searches the forest for the right tree.

Used with permission copyright Jakub Rosicki

The choice of a tree: Choosing a tree for a pole is based on two main criteria, size and location. In choosing a tree for a pole you want one that is tall, straight, and free of knots. Knots are caused by branches, so for a pole you go to the dense forest where branches are only at the top of the tree canopy. The location of the tree is also important, you need it to be near a waterway so after it is brought down it can be transported by water back to the carving site. The tree is too heavy to pack out of the bush by hand for long distances.
Tree selection is also dependant on size. A tree must be large enough to be debarked, rounded and still have enough girth to be carved.