Alaska
Haa Leelk'u has Kaa sta heeni deiyi Pole
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This pole is unusual in that it includes crest figures
from both Raven and Eagle moieties. It is intended to
be a public display of unity, putting old clan differences
aside and working for the good of all Tlingit people.
In 1996, the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural center
commissioned Tlingit carvers Will Burkhart, Tommy
Joseph and Wayne Price to carve a 36-foot red cedar
totem pole that would depict the first Tlingit people to
settle in the Sitka area.
The pole’s Tlingit name translates roughly, “Our
grandparents who were the very first people to use Indian
River and the other people who were here, too.”
1. The top figure is Raven the Creator, who made land
and gave mankind light and fire. Raven also represents
one of the moieties of the Tlingit people.
2. The human figure below Raven represents the first
people to settle in Sitka. The figure wears a Kiks.adi
clan crest hat and holds two coho salmon, the crest of
the L’uknax.adi clan honored by the pole.
3. The third segment of the pole is the frog, which is
the crest of the Kiks.adi clan.
4. It is followed by an eagle, representing all of the
Eagle clans.
5. The bottom figure is the brown bear representing
the Kaagwaantaan, Chookaneidi, and Wooshkeetaan
clans of the eagle moiety. The Mother Bear’s tongue
touches the head of the little bear, passing knowledge
from one generation to the next.
This is a pole of which all Tlingits can be proud!
Totem
Sitka National Historic Park
