Totem Poles of Southeast Alaska

Totem poles are monumental carvings made mainly from western red cedar by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, including the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian of Southeast Alaska. They depict ancestors, legends, clan lineages and historical events, and are not objects of worship. Major collections in Alaska stand at Saxman Totem Park and the Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan and at Sitka National Historical Park [1][2].

What Totem Poles Are

Totem poles are monumental carvings of symbols and figures. Because cedar rots in the wet coastal climate, few poles carved before 1900 survive [1]. Poles depict ancestors, legends, clan lineages and historical events using animals such as the raven, with a long straight beak, and the eagle, with a curved beak, and supernatural beings such as the Thunderbird. Their meaning depends on the viewer’s cultural knowledge [1].

Types of Poles

House frontal poles are the most decorative, often 20 to 40 feet tall, telling a family or clan’s story. Interior house posts are shorter, about 7 to 10 feet, and hold up roof beams. Mortuary poles are the tallest, at 50 to 70 feet, and hold the remains of the deceased. Memorial poles honor a deceased leader and mark a successor, welcome poles greet visitors at waterfronts, and shame poles publicly ridicule people over debts or wrongs [1].

Carving

Carvers hollow out the log to reduce weight and cracking. Chainsaws rough out shapes, adzes and chisels do the main work, knives add detail, and paint is applied last. Raising a pole traditionally involves a trench, a wooden scaffold, many people hauling the pole upright and a ceremony followed by a potlatch [1].

History and Revival

Carving developed from smaller house posts, and freestanding poles grew more elaborate once metal tools arrived in the late 1700s. Fur trade wealth in the 1800s funded lavish potlatches tied to pole construction. Missionaries and government policies discouraged the practice, and nearly all pole-making had stopped by 1901. Revival began in the late 1930s, when the U.S. Forest Service restored about 200 poles, and carving spread again in the 1960s and 1970s [1].

Where to See Them in Alaska

Saxman Totem Park in Ketchikan has the Seward Pole, originally carved around 1885, and the Lincoln pole, moved there in 1938. The Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan houses 33 totems from Tlingit and Haida villages, some dating to about 1880, and is described as the largest such collection in the United States. Totem Bight State Historical Park in Ketchikan includes the Raven Stealing the Sun pole. Sitka National Historical Park displays totems near its visitor center and along a walking trail, including the K’alyaan pole commemorating lives lost in the 1804 Battle of Sitka [1][2].

Cultural Context

Tlingit carvers are especially known for poles that identify a clan’s history in front of houses and others that tell stories, mark events or honor a deceased person or chief [2]. See the entries on the Haida people, the culture of Alaska and Alaska Native arts and crafts.

FAQs

What are totem poles made of? Mainly western red cedar.

Who carves totem poles in Alaska? The Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples of Southeast Alaska.

Are totem poles worshipped? No. They depict ancestors, legends and clan histories and are not objects of worship.

Where can I see totem poles in Alaska? Saxman, the Totem Heritage Center and Totem Bight in Ketchikan, and Sitka National Historical Park.

When did totem pole carving revive? From the late 1930s, with more carving in the 1960s and 1970s.

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Totem pole
2. Alaska Travel: Alaska Native Arts and Traditions

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 12, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue