The Friendship Totem was carved by Nisga'a artist Norman Tait and commissioned in 1976 by the provincial government of British Columbia as a gift to Phoenix, which gifted it to the Heard Museum. Photo courtesy of the Heard Museum
A totem pole gifted to Phoenix nearly 50 years ago is back up at the Heard Museum after being taken down for a recent conservation effort.
Flashback: The "Friendship Totem" was commissioned by the British Columbia provincial government in 1976 as a gift to Phoenix, which gave it to the Heard Museum.
Norman Tait of the Nisga'a people carved the 21-foot totem pole.
Zoom in: Ron Harvey of Tuckerbrook Conservation in Lincolnville, Maine, who makes annual trips to the Heard Museum to clean and care for sculptures displayed in the sculpture garden, led the conservation effort and worked with Tait's surviving brother and daughter.
