Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will host a public ceremony next month to dedicate the new Sukteeneidí clan totem pole, carved by Haida lead artist Lee Wallace. Clan spokesperson, Ed Thomas, former president of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska together with other clan members selected the clan crests depicted on the pole.
The event will take place from 1–4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13, at Heritage Plaza next to the Walter Soboleff Building in Juneau.
Under the guidance of Wallace, five apprentices, Charles Peele, Elizabeth Peele, Dave Ketah, Wesley Pawlik-Jensen, and Michael Milne, had the opportunity to learn the ancient art as part of SHI’s Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail) project. The Sukteeneidí clan crest, a dog salmon swimming in the tall grass at the mouth of a creek before going into the creek to spawn, is depicted on the pole.
The program will feature significant ceremonial elements to help bring the kootéeyaa to life and acknowledge ancestors. An opening performance by the Yées Ku.oo Dance Group will be followed by a welcome from SHI President Rosita Kaaháni Worl, Ph.D., and comments from SHI’s Council of Traditional Scholars and community leaders. Remarks will be made by clan representatives including Fran Houston (L’eeneidí) and James Jack (Wooshkeetaan).
Special guests include Dr. Robert Martin, former president of the Institute of American Indian Arts, and Dr. Shelly C. Lowe, current president of the institute. IAIA is a significant partner with SHI and the University of Alaska Southeast in providing higher education opportunities in Indigenous art.
All dance groups are invited to participate in the grand exit and dance group invitational at the plaza, at the end of the program.
The Sukteeneidí pole, funded by the National Park Service, is one of 30 totem poles planned for SHI’s Kootéeyaa Deiyí Totem Pole Trail along the Juneau waterfront. The first 12 poles were installed in 2022 through a $2.9 million grant from the Mellon Foundation. Those poles, carved by 10 Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian master artists and their apprentices, were dedicated in 2023 alongside Faces of Alaska, five bronze masks representing Alaska’s Inupiat, Yup’ik, Alutiiq, Athabascan, Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples.
The Mellon grant also funded apprentices to be mentored by each of the master artists. The project is intended to revitalize the practice of monumental carving and to increase the number of trained Alaska Native artists, while creating a cultural entry point in downtown Juneau.
The ceremony is free and open to the public.
About Kootéeyaa Deiyí
In 2022, SHI installed the first 12 of 30 totems for Totem Pole Trail, an initiative launched through a $2.9 million grant from the Mellon Foundation. The poles form a cultural entry point to Heritage Square in downtown Juneau and reflect clan histories, crests and migrations of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people. Each kootéeyaa is accompanied by interpretive signage. (Totem Pole Trail Guide)
About Totem Poles
One of the most widely known art forms of the Northwest Coast, totem poles (kootéeyaa in Tlingit) are carved from red cedar and raised to mark significant occasions or honor important individuals. The figures and crests on totem poles reflect the rich clan histories, migrations and oral traditions of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people. SHI’s Totem Pole Trail is part of a larger movement to reclaim and elevate these public cultural expressions.
Sealaska Heritage Institute is a tribal organization founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee, a Southeast Regional Language Committee and a newly formed Education Committee.
CONTACT: Therese Pokorney, SHI Communications Officer,
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