The Healing Totem Pole

In 2011, the National Library of Medicine (part of the National Institutes of Health, or NIH) opened a new exhibit called “ Native Voices " to share the knowledge and concepts of health and wellness of Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. The exhibit was designed in collaboration with Native partners and featured interviews with individuals from many Indian nations and traditions about their practices of medicine and healing. [1] As part of the exhibit, the National Library of Medicine commissioned master carver Jewell Praying Wolf James, of the Lummi Nation in northwestern Washington State, to carve a totem pole for the NIH campus that would symbolize “good health and healing.” [2] James chose to carve representations of particular stories that “highlight the meaning and interconnectedness of life and the environment, and the collective knowledge of all races of humanity.” [3] You can read these stories and find more about the symbolism of the totem pole’s images and colors on the exhibition’s website, as well as view the videos of the healing totem’s trip from the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington State to Washington, D.C. This website also includes all of the interviews that the National Library of Medicine collected for the exhibit and timelines of Native American history that go back to 100,000 B.C.

The Healing Totem can be visited during daylight hours, but be warned that you will be asked to present a REAL ID driver ’s license (or equivalent document) to access the NIH campus. Those without a driver’s license or who want to avoid the hassle can catch a peek of the Healing Totem from the Bethesda Trolley Trail.