totempole65 (2025) by Duane Linklater presents a cartoon-like figure dressed in a suit and tie, featuring a spiked crest hairstyle, two feathers flanking its head, and stylized face paint drawn from stereotypical representations of Indigenous people. Set within a yellow frame, the figure holds a pointing stick directed toward Albert Einstein's equation E = mc².

Created for the third exhibition at The Campus, an exhibition space housed in the former Ockawamick School in Claverack, New York totempole65 draws on archival material from the school’s history as an educational institution. Like many high school and college yearbooks in the United States, the title reflected the school's identity and mascot. In this case, however, both the mascot and the yearbooks drew on Indigenous cultural imagery while reproducing stereotypical representations of Native people. A drawing from the 1965 edition became the basis for this work, foregrounding how this imagery circulated within educational environments.

Situated on Indigenous homelands, the former school also recalls the broader histories of Indian Residential Schools and colonial assimilation policies. For Linklater, whose family has been directly affected by these histories, totempole65 transforms an archival caricature into a critical reflection on cultural memory, representation, and the enduring legacies of colonialism.