A LOST WORLD: The Thunder-Maker
Driving east on Addison Street from Wrigley Field toward Lake Shore Drive, explorers are greeted by an impressive tower of intriguing totems. The “Kwa Ma Rolas,” known also as the Kwanusila or "Thunder- Maker" is carved of red cedar and features a thunderbird of a whale, with the whale ridden by a spear-bearing warrior. A sea monster rides the waves beneath them. Since its erection, the pole has provided a meeting place for lakefront visitors and a prime spot for sunbathers.Bright sunshine notwithstanding, a shadow of mystery has long encircled the artwork. Some observers, comparing photos taken over the years, have alleged that one of the pole's figures, a spear-wielding man riding a whale, has moved. The faithful have cited a native belief in the totem’s power to come to life; skeptics have shrugged off the apparent alterations, blaming optical illusion.
Throughout his lifetime, J.L. Kraft frequently visited Alaska and the Pacific Northwest in search of jade and other artifacts to add to his collections. During one such expedition, he came across two totem poles that were thought to have beeny carved by Haida indians at the turn of the twentieth century. Kraft bought the totem poles from the British Columbian government in 1926 following a series of negotiations, shipping them to Chicago on flatbed railroad carriages. One of the poles went to Kraft’s Wisconsin estate; the other was gifted to Chicago. Dancers dressed as Kwanusila (“the Thunderbird”), and other totems carved into the pole performed at its dedication in June 1929 alongside kids from the nearby Alcott Elementary School.
The pole was not popular with some Chicagoans. In 1972 it was vandalized with paint and set on fire. Someone shot it six times—at close range. Over the years it became so badly damaged that a complete restoration was begun in 1966. Workers from Kaft led the effort; however, the painted symbols were different from the original. There's been talk that Kraft employees may not have fully appreciated the cultural—and spiritual--significance of being thorough in their work. As a result, the original meaning of the markings on the pole faded away nearly entirely. Could it be that this was the beginning of the strange tales that began around the pole? Were the spirits of the totems angered and restless by the lack of respect paid them?
During research for an exhibition titled "Maritime Peoples of the Arctic and Northwest Coast" in 1982, the Field Museum unearthed fresh information about the totem pole that had been hidden for more than half a century. The Kwakiutl Indians of Vancouver Island, rather than the Haida of the Queen Charlotte Islands, were identified as the pole's carvers by the research team. The Canadian government requested the repatriation of the original totem pole after this discovery, due to preservation concerns for the wood in its outdoor environment. Kwa Ma Rolas went to its new home at the University of British Columbia, but not until Kraft, Inc. commissioned a Kwagulth Indian named Tony Hunt—the great great grandson of the original carver--to bring the pole to his village on Vancouver Island so that it might be used to create a replica. It’s this replica which stands in Lincoln Park today, and which is said to represent perfectly the original totems on the original pole.
I’ve observed that reports of “restless” totems on Lake Shore Drive have stopped since the replica was dedicated. We’ve talked a lot on the channel in the past about the fact that the pagan gods and spirits of Native American culture are real “gods” or fallen angels. History is full of the stories of their jealousy, wrath and destruction on those who cross them. So is the story of Chicago’s Thunderbird just a story? Or is it, like so many stories, so much more?