Totem Bight State Historical Park, Raven at the Head of Nass 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

The Raven at the Head of Nass Pole was carved by Charles Brown with the assistance of a team of Civilian Conservation Corps Native carvers. This totem is a reproduction of a Tlingit pole  located on Tongass Island. A 2013 Department of Natural Resources, Master Development Plan for Totem Bight describes the characteristics and history of the totem: “The top figure on this pole is a chief wearing a spruce root hat. The figure at the bottom of the pole is Raven-at- the-head-of-Nass, from whom Raven stole daylight. The human above Raven-at-the-head-of-Nass represents the ancestors of the Raven clan who benefited from the theft. The space between the top figure and the figures below represent high regard held for the chief.”