Seaside Porch

The self-guided walking tour of Totem Trail begins on the Seaside Porch of the Visitor Center.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

Sitka National Historical Park

Designation:

Historical Park

Amenities

12 listed

Beach/Water Access, Cellular Signal, First Aid Kit Available, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information, Information - Ranger/Staff Member Present, Internet/WiFi Available, Junior Ranger Booklet Available, Restroom - Accessible, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Trash/Litter Receptacles, Water - Bottle-Filling Station

Welcome to the self-guided tour of Totem Trail!

Northwest Coast Art

The Indigenous people of the Northwest Coast created a unique style of art for their totem poles called formline to establish the main design units. This curving, swelling line creates three-dimensional shapes using three elements: the ovoid, the “U,” and the “S.” When painted, black is used on accented areas such as pupils and eyebrows. Red is used on lips, nostrils, and bodies. Bluegreen is used in eye sockets and two-dimensional areas.

Figures on Poles

Figures on poles include Eagles with short, pointed beaks and talons; Ravens with longer flat beaks and “ears;” Bears with a short snout, round ears, and flared nostrils; Wolves with a narrow face, tall ears, and long snout; Frogs have large eyes, a wide mouth, and small nostrils. Some poles include humans, animals in human form, or a person with a tall hat on the tops of poles called a “Watchman.”
Some of figures may represent clans or crests. Clans are powerful social units divided into two moieties or groups (the Eagle and the Raven). They play an important role in creating and raising totem poles. Crests are animals or objects exclusively associated with a particular clan. 

Origins

The majority of the 16 historic poles come from Kagaini Haida territory, south of Sitka. They were obtained around 1903 by Alaska’s territorial governor John Brady for the 1904 St. Louis Exposition and the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition. Upon return to Alaska, they were displayed in what is now known as Sitka National Historical Park. The original locations and donors of the poles are mostly known, but their original meanings were either not documented or have been lost.

CCC Era

In the 1930’s, local Native carvers restored or re-carved the poles as a Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) project. Many of the poles along Totem Trail are CCC renditions of the original poles. What is left of the originals are in Totem Hall and the Visitor Center’s Seaside Porch. The largest of the original poles are behind the Visitor Center in an enclosure where you may view them.

There are several types of totem poles.

• House posts are carvings on the support poles of houses;
• Frontal poles are freestanding poles placed against or near the front of a house displaying clan crests, clan history, and/ or a legend;
• Mortuary or Memorial Poles honor a living or dead person with a plain pole and a crest symbol on top. The family deposits ashes of the deceased person either in a box on top of the pole or in a hole in the back.
• Poles can also be a History Pole recording a clan’s history, a Legend Pole telling a real or fictional story, or a Crest Pole showing a particular clan’s ancestry.

Totem poles were never considered part of a religious practice or worshipped.
Enjoy the rest of the tour and feel free to ask any questions!