"Becky" saw some kids making totem poles out of toilet paper rolls at the bookstore and thought it looked fun, so she asked her mom for some ideas (and her mom asked me).  Thanks for the suggestion!

In North America, totem poles often served to proclaim a clan's status.  The figures (often animal spirits) carved onto the poles symbolize a clan's mythological history, as well as the rights and privileges it enjoys.  

Unlike aboriginal peoples in the United States (who prefer to be referred to as Native Americans), the aboriginals in Canada are known as the First Nations peoples.   There are about 600 aboriginal bands who still call Canada home.   Totem poles were made by Native Americans and First Nations people.

Materials:

• a toilet paper tube,
• a printer,
• a piece of paper,
• some crayons,
• scissors,
• glue

Craft Instructions:

• Print out the craft template of choice.
• Color (if using the black and white version of the craft) and cut out the template pieces.
• Glue the large rectangular piece on first to cover the tube.
• Glue the three faces one on top of the other (like in the picture above).
• Glue the wings onto the back of the tube.
• Keep in mind that the totem's faces may be a bit scary for some of the younger kids (though my 5 year old thought they were cool).

Alternative Decorating Idea:

A second option is to replace all or some of the template pieces with totems representing your own family history.  These could be photos of family members or "animal spirits" (your teddy bear, pet dog or cat, a favorite zoo or farm animal) cut from photographs, colouring books or magazines.  If the template pieces are too scary for your child, this is a great alternative! 
 

Templates:

• Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Template   (color)   or   (B&W)

Print friendly version of these instructions