We Make Stories Out of Totem Poles

This is a short film about my friend and honorary brother, Kwakwaka'wakw carver Charles Joseph, who carves his dreams (and sometimes his nightmares) into cedar. Charles survived a particularly brutal residential school in Canada and, years later, is still repairing the damage that caused to him. His greatest carving, a 53 foot totem pole that now sits in front of the Montreal Museum of Fine Art (see http://bit.ly/2IqLnU7), is part of the process of that repair, aided by his engagement in the unique, beautiful and profound art of his tradition. A few years ago, Charles helped me design a new third floor for my house in Toronto. We installed a number of custom totem poles and carvings on that floor, which was also a modernized version of a Kwakwaka'wakw communal big house. I used barn wood from my great-grandfather's original barn from the original Peterson homestead in Saskatchewan for the walls. It's a unique space (which I have been away from so much, given all my traveling in the last year) and it was a very engaging joint project. I learned a lot from the entire experience (which included a potlatch in Port Hardy, in the northern part of Vancouver Island). I am happy to report that most of the terrible dreams and memories that have plagued Charles for so many years have disappeared. Director Patricia Marcoccia's Toronto-based production company Holding Space Films is currently producing a feature-length documentary film that follows our friendship. More on Charles: http://charlesjoseph.ca/ More on Holding Space Films: https://www.holdingspacefilms.com/ Support: https://donorbox.org/help-us-make-films Sign-up for updates: http://eepurl.com/dIJhdb Tw: https://twitter.com/HoldSpaceFilms IG: http://instagram.com/holdingspacefilms FB: https://www.facebook.com/HoldingSpaceFilms E: letstalk@holdingspacefilms.com --- SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL --- Donations: https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/donate Merchandise: https://teespring.com/stores/jordanbpeterson --- BOOKS --- 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos: https://jordanbpeterson.com/12-rules-for-life/ Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief: https://jordanbpeterson.com/maps-of-meaning/ --- LINKS --- Website: https://jordanbpeterson.com/ 12 Rules for Life Tour: https://jordanbpeterson.com/events/ Blog: https://jordanbpeterson.com/blog/ Podcast: https://jordanbpeterson.com/podcast/ Reading List: https://jordanbpeterson.com/great-books/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jordanbpeterson Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordan.b.peterson/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drjordanpeterson --- PRODUCTS --- Personality Course: https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/personality Self Authoring Suite: https://selfauthoring.com/ Understand Myself personality test: https://understandmyself.com/ Merchandise: https://teespring.com/stores/jordanbpeterson