Last updated: October 10, 2024
Place
K’alyáan Pole
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Scenic View/Photo Spot
The Tlingit quietly left the sapling fort during the night, even though the fort construction would allow the propelled Russian cannonballs to give under the pressure. It had been a 6-day siege on the Tlingit stronghold near Kaasdaa Héen (Indian River) but the Tlingit were low on gunpowder. They would then walk across the island in an event now known as what Herb Hope, Kiks.adi elder, would describe as, “… a survival march through our own back yard to a planned destination.”
In 1804, the Tlingit Kiks.adi clan fought a key battle against invading Russian forces at the mouth of Indian River. The K’alyáan Pole is a memorial to those Kiks.adi people who lost their lives in the conflict. It is named after K’alyáan, the legendary warrior who led the battle.
The bottom figure represents the Raven helmet worn by K’alyáan during battle.
The rest of the pole depicts the various clans of the Raven moiety. From the bottom to the top you see:
- A frog representing the Kiks.ádi clan, holding the Raven helmet worn by K’alyaan during battle
- A Beaver representing the Deisheetan clan
- Dog salmon (with its crooked snout that develops during spawning) for the L’eeneidí clan
- Sockeye salmon (with its spots that show up when spawning)
- Woodworm for the Gaanaxteidí clan
- The top of the pole is a raven, representing the whole of the raven moiety
This totem was commissioned by Kiks.adi leader Al Perkins and carved in 1999 by Tlingit Tommy Joseph with assistant carver Fred Beltran at the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural center. It was raised on the site of the historic Kiks.adi fort with the help of the Sitka community.
Following the memorial ceremonies marking its dedication, the pole was given to the park by the Kiks.adi in memory of their ancestors of long ago who fought the battle that marked the last major Native resistance in Sitka to Russian domination in Alaska.