A Culture of Stories

Lewis & Clark integrates knowledge, traditions, and customs from many lands and many peoples into our curricula, our community, and our collective conscience. This rich infusion of diversity is beautifully detailed in our ceremonial mace.

Presented to the College in 1964 and carved by Bill Holm, former curator of Northwest American Indian art at the Thomas Burke Memorial Museum in Seattle, the mace takes the form of a chieftain’s staff. It is fashioned of Pacific yew, a Northwest Coast indigenous hardwood prized by native peoples and modern artisans for its strength, flexibility, and high luster. The mace’s carvings— in the style of the Haida, a northern coast British Columbia tribe—evoke the heritage of Lewis & Clark College as a place where stories and teachings are passed from generation to generation.

The frog at the base represents the ancient beginnings of time in the Pacific Northwest, the time that predates recorded history.

The space above the frog symbolizes the passing eons of unknown time and is decorated with abalone shell, a traditional emblem of Haida carvings. Abalone shells distinguish various features on the mace.

The second figure is a native Northwest Coast Indian, the first human to dwell on the land. His ceremonial staff conveys tribal authority.

The stylized beaver represents the Hudson’s Bay Company, the fur trade period of Oregon’s territorial days, and the coming of non-Native peoples.

Crowning the ceremonial staff is the eagle, a Haida symbol for power, prestige, and peace. Here the eagle also represents the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s exploration of the northwest territory and the region’s ultimate destiny as part of the United States.

Back to the 2005-2006 Main Page