This post features kitsch from the Totem Pole Trading Post, the oldest trading post in Missouri. Aside from the slew of non-Native, stereotypical “Indian” kitsch found inside, the “Totem Pole” in the store’s name itself is interesting granted totem poles are traditional to indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and British Columbia and are carved sculptures from large (typically Red Cedar) trees—which do not grow in the Midwest. I asked the man in the store the namesake of the Totem Pole Trading Post, and he said, “because Indians make totem poles.” This exemplifies the understanding of many non-Natives that Indians are of one, non-distinctive heritage. This assumption blends the individuality of Native peoples from many diverse tribal groups into one Indian stereotype that is made up of favored traits—in this case, the craft of totem poles is assumed to be something all Indigenous Northern Americans do.
