TRADITIONAL CARVING is a low-cost way for inmates to reconnect with their roots and learn valuable skills, say prison officials. So when nationally-renowned totem pole carver Doug Tobin wound up serving time, they let him teach traditional carving such as this mask to other inmates. .

By POLLY KEARY, Editor
Photos by Dan Armstrong

Douglas Tobin could get out of prison as soon as next year. But when he gets out, he plans to come back. Not for future crimes. Rather, to keep carving totem poles there.

Last week, the Squaxin native oversaw the completion of one giant totem pole in the yard of the minimum security section of the prison, and the beginning of another. Under a temporary tarp, six other inmates prepped the new log for carving; stripping off the bark and smoothing the 120-year-old trunk.

Nearby, the brilliantly colored completed pole rested on its back, ready to be erected on the prison grounds. For Tobin, the pole is a symbol of respect, for himself, the inmates, and the system that incarcerated him.

A brilliant, troubled career

Tobin’s carving career, and perhaps his struggles with authority, started when he was just seven, he noted with amusement. That was when he took a knife and whittled away at the porch rail of his home. “I got my butt whipped,” he said. “But as son as I could sit down again, I went back and carved it some more.”

At first, his work in wood was as a logger, His father ran a timber outfit in Southeast Alaska, and he cut trees for a living. But one day, he saw a form suggested in a fallen tree, a yellow cedar that had snapped off when a larger falling tree struck it.

“I just saw a peyote bird in it,” he said. “A peyote bird takes the sprits from the earth to the spirit world. I saw that peyote bird and nothing else existed. I spent six or seven hours carving it out with my falling axe.”

.	AFTER MONTHS OF PREPARATION and more months of carving, Tobin led a team of apprentice carvers in the creation of a 25-foot totem pole soon to be erected at the prison.

When his father showed up in a helicopter to take out the timber, he was angry to discover his son had done nothing but carve all day. But his father had a friend along, and that man offered to buy the carving for a good sum. Tobin’s career was born.

In the following years, he built a reputation as a carver, eventually selling poles 30 feet and longer for up to $5,000 per foot. But he also got into trouble, and some of it was serious. He was involved in a murder-for-hire case 24 years ago. The conviction got him 10 years. He served eight of it and was released.

He rebuilt his carving career and was doing well. But he got involved in a fishing violation case about 10 years ago, and was arrested for poaching geoducks. That landed him back in prison. He served his time and is now approaching release, and vows that the closest he will get to a shellfish upon release is Ivar’s clam chowder.

When he was transferred to Monroe’s minimum security unit, in preparation for release, he brought his carving proposal to the prison administration.

He would supply his own tools, create a work of art for the prison worth tens of thousands of dollars, and supervise a crew of inmates, some of them also native, but not all, to complete a large totem pole. Would the prison allow them to have a large cedar log to carve?

Preserving tradition

Scott Frakes, the superintendent of the Monroe prison, was open to the idea. It was in tune with a goal of rehabilitation of offenders, he said. “I think so far what we are delivering is a chance to pass down traditional skills that are being lost,” he said. “And it can lead to conversations that may inspire people to learn about their tribes and traditions.”

Not only that, but Tobin’s supervisors spoke well of him, his reputation as a carver was undeniable, and he said he would look for carvers that he could eventually hire. As finding employment for felons is difficult at best, the program would help with the goal of training inmates for professions, too.

So in the next weeks, a friend of Tobin’s who lives near Snohomish donated a 25-foot cedar from his lot.
Tobin’s lawyer arranged for the purchase of $1,000 worth of toothbrush-sized carving tools and adzes, that get stored with other prison work tools when not in use. A tarp was erected over the log to keep it out of the winter rain, and 10 inmates were chosen to join in the project.

.	DANIEL PIERRE, a Cowichan Indian from Duncan., B.C., said his new skill will be useful when he returns home, for his hometown is known as “The City of Totems” and bases its tourism economy around totem poles.

The totem pole

For the next months, Tobin helped the offenders bring forth traditional images from the log. At the base of the colorful pole is the figure of a pregnant woman, protected by the paws of a bear. Above that, a killer whale has the face of a man appearing in its blowhole, representing the link shared by the oxygen-breathing mammals, and the greater links between humans and nature.

There is a box-shaped piece in the center above which is the figure of a raven, representing the characters in a legend about the origin of the sun, stars and the moon. A big green frog, helper to Raven, sticks its tongue out above that. Above Frog stands the Shaman. “This is in recognition for superintendents, judges and prosecutors,” said Tobin. “It’s important, He’s got a lot on his plate.”

Atop the pole is a human figure. “The top guy here is Direction Watcher,” he said. “His job is to look for negative energy. So that’s out of respect for the Corrections Officers. They got to be head shrinkers, Mom, Pop, everything.”

The pole is more colorful than most, but that’s to offset its drab surroundings, said Tobin.

New pole

Under a tarp, six inmates prepare the newest log for carving. It eventually will go to the Squaxin Tribe.
The men said they were excited to get the opportunity to carve with Tobin.“He’s phenomenal,” said James Viss of Wapato. “He’s taken the time to teach and that’s phenomenal.”

Daniel Pierre, a Cowichan tribe member from Duncan, B.C., said the skill will definitely be useful when he heads back home. “Our city is called the City of Totems,” he said. “We have totem tours back home.”

Tobin joked that Donald Waller, an African American, is of the “Blackfoot Tribe.” Even though it’s not his own heritage, Waller said the program is a blessing. “This gives me a new skill I can take to the streets,” he said. “This is really cool. It’s positive.”

“It’s humbling to have to come here and learn your own traditions,” said Victor Evenson, a Tlingit of Wrangle, Alaska.

And Sidney Phair, a Lummi Indian from near Bellingham and the only experienced carver among the crew under the tarp Wednesday, met Tobin in 1990 and borrowed tools from him then, he said. “It’s a great opportunity to work with Tobin, with his creativity and his wisdom,” he said.

The journey of carving

There’s more than just learning tradition to carving the pole. There is learning a lot of geometry, too. Totem poles can stand up in nearly hurricane force winds. That is because the back of a totem pole is actually hollowed out like a canoe. When the wind rushes around it, Bernoulli’s Principle takes effect, the same principle that allows sailboats to sail into the wind and airplane wings to lift.

There are load-bearing and structural considerations. There are complications that arise within each tree, depending on its individual characteristics.Those elements of carving; discipline, preparation, tradition, respect for the task, are good for people to learn, said Tobin.That is why Tobin will return once he is freed, he said.

And when he returns to the world, he hopes some of the talented carvers he has found and trained in prison join him at work on the outside. He hopes they learn some of the things carving has taught him. “There’s a magnitude of things you learn in the journey of carving,” he said.
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