Grand Hall tour

Information products related to the Grand Hall: books

To order, please visit the Cyberboutique, or contact publications@civilization.ca

    The Book of the Grand Hall
    by Andrea Laforet
    Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1992
    ISBN 0-660-14001-2; $14.95
    Richly illustrated, this book gives an inside look at the houses, house fronts and poles of the Grand Hall. It not only explores the development of the Grand Hall, and the construction and conservation work behind it, but it is also a fascinating look at the cultures, symbols, and beliefs of the Natives peoples of the Pacific Coast.
    Dr. Andrea Laforet is Chief of the Canadian Ethnology Service at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

    Raven's Village
    The Myths, Arts and Traditions of Native People from the Pacific Northwest Coast
    by Nancy Ruddell
    Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1995
    ISBN 0-660-14035-7; $8.95
    This richly illustrated book vividly recounts the stories that surround the human, animal and supernatural figures that appear on totem poles, in housefront paintings and in sculptures on display in the Grand Hall. These stories are interpreted according to their symbolic meaning. The importance of myths today is explored. The book also describes the reconstructed archaeological dig (at the far end of the Grand Hall), which represents over 5,000 years of Native habitation.
    Nancy Ruddell is an educator at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

    Haida Art
    by George F. MacDonald
    Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1996
    ISBN 1-55054-402-0; $65
    For centuries, the Haida lived on Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands), a remote archipelago off the northwest coast of Canada. By the time the first Europeans landed on the shores of Haida Gwaii in 1774, the Haida had attained a distinctive and powerful style of sculpture and painting in order to represent their myths, lineage and history. Art, myth and ceremony were closely entwined and an integral part of their lives.
    The book provides an insightful overview of the historical, cultural and cosmological context of Haida art, and of the roles played by leading Haida artists. Its colour photographs display the full elegance and glory of Haida art, and the rare black-and-white historical images offer intriguing and revealing glimpses into the past.

    Totem Poles
    Volume I: According to Crests and Topics
    Volume II: According to Location
    by Marius Barbeau with a new foreword by G.F. MacDonald
    Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1990
    ISBN vol.1 0-660-12902-7, vol.2 0-660-12903-5
    $29.95 each

    These two volumes explore the making and meaning of totem poles. Many of these poles, which once stood proudly in the Indian villages of Canada's Northwest Coast, are now part of museum collections in Europe and North America. The result of years of research by well-known anthropologist Marius Barbeau, these volumes were first published in 1950 and were an instant success. The Museum is proud to make these classics available again.



    Date Created: February 27, 1996 | Last Updated: June 18, 2010