How to Make a Totem Pole

The steps are easy to make your very own totem pole like some tribes of Native Americans cunningly crafted out of cedar wood, beads, pigments and stones. Your creation will not be as large or as tall as some of the monoliths that have been uncovered which have been found up to almost two hundred feet tall, but it will be a great way to learn about totems of some native American tribes.

Gather your supplies: You will need two cardboard paper towel tubes (please ask your parents to save you some, and do not just unwrap paper towels to make this. You will also need some scissors, a craft knife, glue, and paints or markers. If you are not of the age where using scissors or craft knives are appropriate, please get parental supervision.

Draw your totems on either side of the cardboard tube, and color them in. Traditional totems were animals, mythological beasts, or some of the Tribe's gods or ancestral spirits. You can of course make up your own, or draw your family as your own totem.

Use the second paper towel tube to cut out ears, wings, horns, or other parts of your beasts that would stick out from the main pole. You will also save about 1 inch of the second cardboard tube as a base, so your totem pole can stand on its own.

Glue on your extra pieces and the base, and finish decorating with markers, glue, glitter, or whatever you think works for your totem pole. You can use craft eyes to make sure your totem pole is able to keep a protective watch over you. This is a great craft to do with children, to help educate them about different Native American tribes around Thanksgiving because there are so many misconceptions flying around about any number of Native American tribes or cultures.

It is very interesting to note that the phrase "Low man on the totem pole" should not mean that you are the least, or newest, or most inexperienced, but it should refer to the best, or strongest, or most finely crafted. Native online tells us that it was the master carver who carves the first ten feet of a totem pole, because those will be the most closely examined, and need to be the strongest.

So if you are saving your brother who calls you names to go on the bottom of your totem pole, think twice about putting him there.