The classic photograph on the left is by Edward Curtis, and features a Kwakiutl Humpspeck Totem pole by my great-grandfather, Charlie James. This was the inspiration for my glass totem pole. 

I remember my elder, the late Emma Tamlin, telling me about Spruce Martin, one of the greatest Kwakwaka'wakw dancers. He could dance like a man possessed, his body snaking in and out of the mouths of the Humpspeck totem.