CASCADE -- An ancient native American art form is thriving in Cascade and people from around the world travel to the small town to learn how to tell stories in wood.
Head up Highway 55 and you will find the Arrowhead RV Park. But this isn't your average RV park.
In the summer it becomes a native American cultural center.
People from around the world come to meet Terry Crown -- a master carver, member of the Chocktow Tribe, and totem pole expert.
Terry has been carving totem poles at Arrowhead for the last 14 years.
There are certain things that each different creature on a pole represent. So when we design a pole, we take a look at their life and we try to put that on wood and then carve it in, explained Terry Crown. It's a deep spiritual thing.
Each symbol has special meaning. Totem poles tell stories and that is why people are drawn to this ancient art form.
They want to tell a story and we just show them how to write it into wood, said Terry.
Terry hopes to keep the totem pole tradition alive.
I think it's about spirit and what you want to pass on to society, said Terry. We've got a lot of cultures through our lives that we've left behind, but the northwest people, they've got a culture that nobody knows. They still have children that don't know their culture. So they promote what we do and that's what I want, to pass on that culture.
This summer, the benches at the RV park will be full once again with people carving their own memories into wood.
It's not only an art, said Terry. It's more spirit that is bringing that out.
