Totem Bight State Historical Park, Kadjuk Bird Pole - Ketchikan AK

City:: Ketchikan, AK
Site Type:: Archaeology and History, Art Works, Sculptures, Historical Restoration
New Deal Agencies:: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Work Relief Programs
Started:: 1939
Completed:: 1941
Artist:: Tlingit craftsmen
Designer:: Architect Linn A. Forrest (restoration)
Quality of Information:: Very Good
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics and history of the totem: “The fabled bird called Kadjuk, which is the special crest of the head of Kadjuk people of the Raven clan, is at the top of this Tlingit pole that was copied from Cat Island. The undecorated space separating the bird from the other figures symbolizes the lofty habitat of the bird and the high regard in which the crest is held. Raven is the next figure, with his breast forming the headdress of his wife, Fog Woman. She holds two salmon that she produced—the first salmon in the world.”

Source notes

Garfield, Viola and Linn Forrest, 1961, The Wolf and the Raven, Seattle: University of Washington Press, p. 71-99. Totem Bight State Historical Park, Master Development Plan, Department of Natural Resources, 2013, accessed July 15, 2017.

Site originally submitted by Brent McKee; Steve Forrest (with documentation courtesy of Linn Forrest) on July 20, 2017.