Totem pole to return
32FT SALFORD DOCKS LANDMARK REFURBISHED AFTER A DECADE IN STORAGE
SALFORD’S Thunderbird totem pole is go on display once again.
It is to be fully restored and put on show in the exact spot it stood for 37 years. For the past decade it has been out of sight in storage in a warehouse in the city. The 32ft two-and-a-half ton structure was commissioned by Robert Stoker, the then chairman of Manchester Liners and unveiled in 1969 in the company’s grounds at Salford Docks – meaning only staff could see it.
It was meant to be a permanent testimony to trade links between Manchester and Canada. But in 2006 it was taken down after falling into disrepair.
OOCL, the company which took over Manchester Liners, moved it to their depot in Felixstowe.
But Salford councillor Steve Coen began a campaign to bring it back and the totem was returned in 2007.
Three years later its original vibrant red and green colours were repainted, crowned by the head of a Thunderbird with its vivid yellow beak.
The pole was carved by Chief Pal Nakwala Wakas – alias Doug Cramner – of the Kwakwaka’wakw tribe, from British Columbia, Canada.
His nephew, Kevin Cramner, travelled to Salford in 2010 to lead the repair work, which used cedar imported from Canada.
It will emerge from storage after Salford council struck a deal with developers The Fortis Group, which is transforming the former Manchester Liners building into apartments.
They have agreed to finance further restoration and protection of the totem pole.
There are four symbolic designs on the pole – the Great Eagle or Thunderbird, representing family and solidarity; the killer whale, master of the seas; the raven, a messenger and symbol of trade; and copper coins, a sign of wealth and power.
The pole is set to be put back into position in 2020.
Meanwhile it will be a significant part of a project launched by The University of Kent’s School of English in collaboration with the University of British Columbia.
The aim is to provide a history of Native North Americans in Britain.
In the 1880s Salford became home to a large contingent of Lakota Sioux brought to the city as part of American Army scout Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.
Coun Coen said: “The Fortis Group has agreed to open the area where the totem pole will be to public access. It would be fitting too if the location was named in recognition of the city’s link with North American and Canadian Indians – perhaps Black Elk Square after one of the Sioux warriors who was here with Buffalo Bill’s show.
“It would be great too to name the apartments Doug Cramner House.
“The pole will be installed with a story board and it will be floodlit at night.”
Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: “The totem pole and the story around it is a fascinating piece of history that deserves to stand where it once lived years ago.
“We’re very much looking forward to the findings from the research taking place by the two universities and also look forward to a visit this summer from relatives of Chief Doug Cramner who carved the pole.”
Buffalo Bill brought a travelling company of 97 Native Americans, 180 bronco horses and 18 buffalo which camped for five months on the banks of the Irwell from November 1887.
They performed nightly to vast crowds, staging a ‘Cowboys and Indians’ show of gunslinging and acts of daring horsemanship in a massive indoor arena built on what is now Salford Quays.
A 6ft 7in warrior called “Surrounded by The Enemy” died aged 22 of a lung infection while with the group in Salford. It is understood he was buried in a traditional Sioux ceremony conducted by fellow warriors Black Elk and Red Shirt. Coun Coen believes there may be people living in Salford today who have Native American ancestry.
One Sioux baby was born in Salford and was baptised in St Clement’s Church in Ordsall before slipping out of the history books.
The Sioux connection still lives on in Salford, with street names such as Buffalo Court and Dakota Avenue.
Many of the tribe who came to Salford were veterans of the Battle of the Little Bighorn – where Lt Col George Custer and his Seventh Cavalry were routed. The totem pole at the Manchester Liners offices in the 1970s