Chief Kyan Totem Pole

Totem poles are carved to honor deceased ancestors and record history, social events, and oral tradition, and they were never worshipped as religious objects. This totem is the second replication of the Chief Kyan Totem Pole. The original pole was carved in Ketchikan in the early part of the century and stood on Barney Way until the late 1920s, when it was moved to the Pioneer Hall. In 1964, the aged pole was removed and replicated for the first time. This second replication was commissioned by the City of Ketchikan to Tlingit master carver Israel Shotridge, a member of the Tongass Tribe. The pole was carved during the summer of 1992 with the assistance of apprentice Edwin DeWitt, and its rededication and pole raising took place on July 3, 1993. The figures on the pole represent the Crane, the Thunderbird, and the Brown Bear. The original pole belonged to Tongass Tlingit Chief George Kyan, whose Brown Bear crest can be seen on the pole. Chief Kyan’s Tlingit name was Yaansein. He was of the Wolf clan and was a member of the Tantakwaan tribe.

Saxman, Alaska · United States