The first time I heard of Bill Reid was probably a year and a half ago, when my friend Jon mentioned in passing that he wanted a tattoo of Reid's Haida Eagle. "He's one of the best Native artists around," Jon maintained, half in disbelief I had never heard of this household name.

I remember as part of my grade ten Social Studies course students were to prepare a collaborative presentation on Vancouver and tourism. For a head start, my colleagues and I borrowed a Vancouver tourism video from a travel agency and in it showed scenes of Haida art, precisely Reid's The Raven and the First Men, although I didn't know it at the time it was Reid's carving.

Claude Levi-Strauss, along with many other contemporary critics I'm sure, are indebted to Reid, who arguably has "revived a flame [Native art] that was so close to dying." Reid's carvings are indeed magnificent and this opinion is revealed by the monument status his artwork garners in and around prominent Canadian buildings and institutions.

What contradicts this celebratory attitude of Reid's work then, is the possible stance Eva Mackey would take in regards to the prevalence of Haida artwork when representing the Canadian national identity. Part of what Mackey addresses in The House of Difference is the approach Canadian institutions take in presenting Aboriginal culture today. She argues that Aboriginals are prevalent in society only in ways non-threatening to the maintenance of the status quo. This, I believe is in the form of Haida artwork: We are acknowledging the existence of Aboriginals (and ethnic minorities) in white society (or as we'd like to believe, a "multicultural" society), but only through limited mediums.

If I were to ask a person of First Nations descent to draw me an image that symbolizes Native culture, what would s/he draw? I would not be surprised if s/he sketched me a totem pole, or even an abstract Native design; in fact this is what I would expect. Does this make me stereotypical of Natives? I personally don't think so. Symbols and images of our culture persist because they represent our culture, our myths. Is it so wrong to represent Natives as part of Canada's heritage through images of teepees and headdresses? Mackey argues that "Native people…are frozen in the glorious past" by these cultural objects. I agree with Mackey that contemporary portrayals are needed to realistically represent Natives today. However, I also believe cultural symbols keep different cultures distinct and in turn, these variations are what enables different cultures not only to stay alive, but thrive.