"Author Vickie Jensen spent three months in the spring of 1985 with the renowned Nisga'a First Nations artist Norman Tait (1941-2016) and his crew of young carvers, documenting the process of transforming a raw cedar log to a forty-two-foot totem pole. The resulting unique book, featuring intimate, accessible text and 125 striking photographs, captures the atmosphere of their work-the smell of fresh cedar chips, the long days and blistered hands, the camaraderie, the pride in solving problems, the ever-present awareness of tradition, and the joy of creation.Totem Pole Carving gives the reader two equally rich stories: the step-by-step process of creating a magnificent doorway pole for Vancouver's Native Education Centre, and the triumph of the young crew as they master the skills and traditions necessary to carve. Originally published in hardcover under the title Where the People Gather, this new edition features a new preface from the author and an updated, lifetime-spanning survey of Tait's major works. The book will retain Norman Tait's original 1992 foreword"--