"“When it shows up, it looks like a log. It’s a very daunting feeling. It rolls in, and you think, ‘Oh my god. What have I decided to do?’” David Boxley, Jr., an artist and member of the Tsimshian tribe, is discussing the moment the 22-and-a-half-foot, 2500-pound old-growth red cedar giant from British Columbia was delivered to his family’s home in Kingston, Washington in early October. Carefully chiseling it, he looks up and says, “but then you start working on it, and you get this far, and you realize it’ll be all right.”

Nearly three months later, and after a 2783-mile journey to the National Museum of the American Indian, the tree has been transformed into a monumental piece of art. Boxley and his father, expert carver and artist David Boxley, Sr., have labored over the pole for countless hours, sketching a traditional design, carving it into the wood with precision and chiseling the curves down to an immaculate smoothness. From now through January 11, they will be completing the finishing touches in front of the public, before their work is unveiled as a permanent addition to the museum’s Potomac Atrium on January 14. An official unveiling ceremony will include a performance by Git-Hoan, a traditional dance group led by Boxley, Sr."

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Around the Mall: The Art of the Totem Pole (Smithsonian Magazine 1/5)