• Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District, Back Potlatch Ring Pole - Kasaan AK
    Craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps carved a copy of the Back Potlatch Ring Pole. The pole stands 15 feet tall. The flying groundhog was replaced with an eagle in 1939.
  • Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District, Bear Memorial Pole - Kasaan AK
    Craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps carved a copy of the Bear Memorial Pole. The pole stands 20 feet tall.
  • Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District, Frog/Two Eagle Memorial Pole - Kasaan AK
    Craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps carved a copy of one of two mortuary posts, called Two Eagle Memorial Pole. The pole stands 15’ tall. The original, which has burned, belonged to the Eagle Leg House in Old Kasaan. It featured a frog carved on the front and two eagle figures at the top.
  • Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District, Ha’u Pole - Kasaan AK
    Craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps restored the original Ha’u Pole. The Kasaan Haida Heritage Foundation describes the significance of the figures represented on the pole: “Sources recount that a man from the Tlingit village of Kake carved this pole, as the owners were of Tlingit descent on their mother’s side. The pole belonged to the grandfather of Son-I-Hat who actually had the name “East.” The figures on the pole from the top are described as the “father of us all, ”Raven, killer whale, and Raven with a human figure on front, with Root on the bottom." Walter Young worked...
  • Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District, Killer Whale Grave Figure - Kasaan AK
    Craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps carved a copy of the Killer Whale Grave Figure. The original, which no longer exists, was located on the roof of a grave house on the beach in Old Kasaan. This is the location in which it was originally photographed, before it was relocated to New Kasaan in 1940.
  • Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District, Sitting Bear Grave Marker - Kasaan AK
    The Sitting Bear Grave Marker is a reproduction from an original totem from Old Kasaan, carved by native craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps. The totem was relocated on January 30, 1939 to New Kasaan at the Whale House site, where a copy was carved. Located at the west end of the village inside a small grave house, the original Bear Grave Marker stood on top of a grave.
  • Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District, Skawaal Pole - Kasaan AK
    Craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps restored the original Skawaal Pole. The Kasaan Haida Heritage Foundation describes the significance of the figures represented on this pole: “This pole is about 50-feet high and was one of two poles which stood in front of Chief Skáwaal's Rib House. When the pole was moved to New Kasaan, the thunderbird figure at the top was replaced and the surface was carved down to solid wood during the CCC restoration. The carved figures below the ring appear the same for each pole: Raven with the moon in its beak; Raven holding his beak...
  • Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District, Son-I-Hat Frontal Pole - Kasaan AK
    Standing in front of the Whale House, this 50-foot pole is a reproduction of an Old Kasaan original. The pole was carved in 1939 by James Peele. Chester R. Snow, a Construction Engineer for the Civilian Conservation Corps noted that the original pole was buried 10 feet in the ground. In Tlingit and Haida societies, houses typically have a post incorporated in the façade or standing in front of it. The Son-I-Hat Frontal Pole stands on the beach, in front of the  Whale House, which faces the water.
  • Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District, Spencer Pole - Kasaan AK
    David Peele and craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps carved a copy of the Spencer Pole. The Kasaan Haida Heritage Foundation describes the significance of the figures represented on the pole: “The 40-foot Spencer Pole was raised by Kate Gamede, a Kasaan woman of Táas Láanas clan, as a memorial to her husband, a photographer from Victoria, BC. The image of Mr. Spencer appears at the top of the pole; below appear scroll patterns; Raven carrying the moon in his mouth; and Black Skin, the strong man, holding the sea lion. The last figure illustrates a story familiar to...
  • Four Story Totem Pole - Juneau AK
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored and recarved hundreds of totem poles in Alaska, as part of a restoration program that lasted between 1938 and 1942. The program was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service effort to employ Alaska Natives and conserve totems and Native cultural assets. U.S. Forest Service architect Linn A. Forrest oversaw the joint program of the Forest Service and the CCC throughout Southeast Alaska. Master carver John Wallace of Hydaburg carved the Four Story Totem Pole. An information page, published by the Public Art Archive, summarizes the history and symbolic meaning of the figures represented on the...
  • Klawock Totem Park, Eagle and Wolf Pole - Klawock AK
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored/recarved the Eagle and Wolf Pole between 1938 and 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the conservation of totems and Native cultural assets. The pole was originally found at the abandoned village of Tuxekan. With the accord of the former residents, the CCC and the U.S. Forrest Service relocated the pole to the Klawock Totem Park on the Prince of Wales Island. The Eagle and Wolf Pole belongs to the Wolf phratry and marks the resting place of a woman member of the clan. In their 1961 volume, The Wolf and...
  • Klawock Totem Park, The Long-Eared Monster Pole - Klawock AK
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored/recarved the Long-Eared Monster Pole between 1938 and 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the conservation of totems and Native cultural assets. The pole was originally found on a rocky point in the abandoned village of Tuxekan. With the accord of the former residents, the CCC and the U.S. Forrest Service relocated the pole to the Klawock Totem Park on the Prince of Wales Island. This pole belongs to the Raven clan, the same lineage that created the Bullhead and the Fight with the Land Otters Pole. It was created...
  • Klawock Totem Park, The Raven-Finned Blackfish Pole - Klawock AK
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored/recarved the The Raven-Finned Blackfish Pole between 1938 and 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the conservation of totems and Native cultural assets. The pole was originally found in the abandoned village of Tuxekan. With the accord of the former residents, the CCC and the U.S. Forrest Service relocated the pole to the Klawock Totem Park on the Prince of Wales Island. This pole belongs to the Wolf clan at Klawock. A niche at the back of the pole contains the ashes of a member of the clan. The pole...
  • Sitka National Historical Park, Frog/Raven Pole - Sitka AK
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) carved a copy of the original Frog/Raven Pole during a restoration program that lasted between 1938 and 1941. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the conservation of totems and Native cultural assets. Many of the poles that the CCC recovered were found in an advanced state deterioration, which made conservation difficult. While restoration was the preferred approach, the CCC opted for recarving, or partial recarving, if the pole could not be salvaged. The head carver at Sitka was George Benson. The copy of Frog/Raven Pole was carved by George Benson...
  • Sitka National Historical Park, Gaanax.ádi/Raven Crest Pole - Sitka AK
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) carved a copy of the original Gaanax.ádi/Raven Crest Pole during a restoration program that lasted between 1938 and 1941. The pole was donated in 1903 and brought to Sitka from Tuxekan. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the conservation of totems and Native cultural assets. Many of the poles that the CCC recovered were found in an advanced state deterioration, which made conservation difficult. While restoration was the preferred approach, the CCC opted for recarving, or partial recarving, if the pole could not be salvaged. The head carver at Sitka was...
  • Sitka National Historical Park, Saanaheit Pole - Sitka AK
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) carved a copy of the original Saanaheit Pole during a restoration program that lasted between 1938 and 1941. The Saanaheit Pole was brought to Sitka from Old Kasaan. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the conservation of totems and Native cultural assets. Many of the poles that the CCC recovered were found in an advanced state deterioration, which made conservation difficult. While restoration was the preferred approach, the CCC opted for recarving, or partial recarving, if the pole could not be salvaged. The head carver at Sitka was George Benson...
  • Sitka National Historical Park, The Mosquito Legend Pole - Sitka AK
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) carved a copy of the Mosquito Legend Pole during a restoration program that lasted between 1938 and 1941. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the conservation of totems and Native cultural assets. Many of the poles that the CCC recovered were found in an advanced state deterioration, which made conservation difficult. While restoration was the preferred approach, the CCC opted for recarving, or partial recarving, if the pole could not be salvaged. The head carver at Sitka was George Benson. This mosquito pole currently at Sitka is a replica of...
  • Sitka National Historical Park, Trader Legend Pole - Sitka AK
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) carved a copy of the original Trader Legend Pole during a restoration program that lasted between 1938 and 1941. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the conservation of totems and Native cultural assets. Many of the poles that the CCC recovered were found in an advanced state deterioration, which made conservation difficult. While restoration was the preferred approach, the CCC opted for recarving, or partial recarving, if the pole could not be salvaged. The head carver at Sitka was George Benson (Lkeináa). Before the CCC program, many totems had been left...
  • Sitka National Historical Park: Lakich’inei Pole - Sitka AK
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) carved a copy of the original Lakich’inei Pole during a restoration program that lasted between 1938 and 1941. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the conservation of totems and Native cultural assets. Many of the poles that the CCC recovered were found in an advanced state deterioration, which made conservation difficult. While restoration was the preferred approach, the CCC opted for recarving, or partial recarving, if the pole could not be salvaged. The head carver at Sitka was George Benson. The pole was restored between 1992 and 1993. Before the CCC program, many...
  • Sitka National Historical Park: Totem Conservation Exhibit - Sitka AK
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored and recarved totem poles at Sitka, as part of a restoration program that lasted between 1938 and 1941. The program was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service effort to employ Alaska Natives and conserve totems and Native cultural assets. Many of the poles that the CCC recovered from abandoned villages were found in an advanced state deterioration, which made conservation difficult. While restoration was the preferred approach, the CCC opted for recarving, or partial recarving, if the pole could not be salvaged. The head carver at Sitka was George Benson (Lkeináa). Some of the...
  • Totem Bight State Historical Park - Ketchikan AK
    In 1938, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed the Totem Bight State Historical Park. The park, believed to be the site of an old Tlingit fish camp, was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the restoration of totems and Native cultural assets. Located in Ketchikan, the site brings together totem carvings of the Tlingit and Haida people, gathered from uninhabited villages. As barter declined and non-Native settlements proliferated, Alaska Natives began to abandon their villages in remote forest areas and move in search of employment. The settlements and totem art they left behind began to deteriorate. In the late...
  • Totem Bight State Historical Park, Eagle Grave Marker - Ketchikan AK
    The Eagle Grave Market Pole is a totem carved in the 1930s by John Wallace. The original was located in the old village of Howkan. The carving found today at the Totem Bight State Historical Park was reproduced from memory by John Wallace. Wallace’s carving has a Chilkat blanket, which is an uncommon detail for this type of totem, and was not present in the original design. The totem is 10’ high and has a 42” base below ground. The design of the blanket evokes clouds, mountains, and the symbolic characters that live in the forest. The photographic material published here...
  • Totem Bight State Historical Park, Master Carver Pole - Ketchikan AK
    The Master Carver Pole pole was carved by John Wallace in 1941. A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics and history of the totem: “It was customary on Haida poles to carve the crests of husband and wife. The eagle on the top of this pole is one of the main crests of the Haida Eagle Clan, the clan to which Wallace belonged. The beaver and bullhead
on the pole are also Eagle Clan symbols. The pole additionally includes the opposite crest of the Raven Clan, represented by the raven, bear, blackfish, and...
  • Totem Bight State Historical Park, Sea Monster Pole - Ketchikan AK
    This Sea Monster Pole was carved by John Wallace circa 1939-1939. It is the reproduction of a totem from the now-uninhabited Haida village of Klinkwan on Prince of Wales
Island. A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics and history of the totem: “A village watchman stands guard at the top of the pole, just above two eagle crests and symbols representing clouds and mountains, the place of eagles. Below these are figures representing the world under the sea—blackfish holding a seal, a sea monster, and a devilfish (octopus) in the act of devouring...
  • Totem Bight State Historical Park, The Clan House - Ketchikan AK
    The Clan House is a replica of a community house representative of houses built in the early nineteen-century native villages of Southeast Alaska. It served as the chieftain's dwelling and it also housed several families part of his clan. The structure and its totem art did not originally existed on the current site. The site was a fish camp prior to being turned into a totem park. The paining decorating the façade was created by Charles Brown. It represents a stylized raven figure painted in light blue and brown colors. The eyes of the raven are composed as two stylized faces. Such elaborate...
  • Totem Bight State Historical Park, Thunderbird and Whale - Ketchikan AK
    A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics and history of the totem: “This pole illustrates the mythological conception of thunder. A huge bird that lives on the tops of the highest mountains, the thunderbird, creates thunder by beating its wings, and lightening by blinking its eyes. The thunderbird was said to live in the mountains and come down to prey on whales. The whale at the base of the pole symbolizes the mountaintop where the bird rests before devouring his prey and it is said that whale bones can be found on...
  • Totem Bight State Historical Park, Wandering Raven House Entrance Pole - Ketchikan AK
    The Wandering Raven House Entrance Pole is the central totem that decorates the façade and marks the entrance of the clan house at Totem Bight. A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics of the carving: “The pole against the front of the house is called Wandering Raven, named for the legendary Raven carved as the top figure. Raven can be recognized by his straight black beak. Underneath Raven and at his feet is a carved box containing daylight. Below a mink and a frog, the standing figure of a man, Natsihline, represents the...