Eagle's Nest House Posts

Each post is rendered to show Mother Eagle a little differently.

NPS Photo/ Cinnamon Dockham

Quick Facts

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Automated Entrance, Automated External Defibrillator (AED), Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information - Ranger/Staff Member Present

These four house posts are from the Kaagwaantaan Ch’áak’ Kúdi Hít (Eagle’s Nest House). House posts are important to clan house construction. Do you notice the notches on the top of each post? Traditionally a post is located at each indoor corner of a clan house and used to support a roof beam. You may also notice there is some variation in the design of each post. Traditionally, larger, and more ornate posts are located at the back of the house, where the higher status residents and their guests gather. Each post is rendered to show Mother Eagle a little differently. Each post also illustrates her sitting atop a nest (the round figure at the bottom) and the nest has a face within. The face within the nest is reminds us that there is life in everything and therefore all things in nature should be respected.

These posts are approximately 200 years old and they tell the Mother Eagle story in which an eagle brings fish to a girl and her grandmother, the sole survivors of disease. The girl convinced the eagle she was its mother. As the girl matured and married a man of the opposite moiety, the birth of Kaagwaantaan children ensured the survival of the clan.

By now you may have noticed that the crest of a clan is very important. A crest is used for representation and identification of a distinct social group. Can you imagine the frustration or confusion if more than one group has the same crest? To your right, next to the entrance of the museum exhibit, the unassuming carved frog in the corner is the symbol of sharp contention over this topic.