By: Jonathon Dawe, Wrangell Sentinel
For the first time in 38 years, the Wrangell Native community has raised new totem poles in town, with four days of events planned Thursday through Sunday, July 17-20.
Unveiling the five new poles marks a significant revival of a centuries-old Tlingit tradition. The event honors the carvers and apprentices who transformed logs into cultural masterpieces, continuing a legacy nearly lost to time.
By the early 1900s, most of the town’s 30 to 40 totem poles had decayed or fallen, and the art of pole carving faded. The last totem pole raised in Wrangell was the Sun House Totem in 1987, carved by Steve Brown and Wayne Price, according to organizers of this week’s events.
Last week’s celebration symbolized a broader cultural resurgence that began with the 2013 rededication of Chief Shakes House and the 2015 completion of the WCA’s Carving Shed on Front Street, the organizers explained.
The new poles were funded in part by the U.S. Army (Gunakaadeit Pole) and organized by the Wrangell Cooperative Association.
The poles and their stories
Each pole tells a story rooted in Tlingit and Haida traditions:
Bear Up The Mountain Pole: A Naanya.aayí X’atgu Hít narrative of survival during a great flood.
Gunakaadeit Pole: A Naanya.aayí X’atgu Naasí Hít tale of a man using a sea monster’s skin to feed his community.
Underwater Sea Bear Pole: A Sik’nax.ádi legend of a mythical good-luck creature.
Killer Whale Grave Marker: A Kayaashkeiditaan tribute to Shx’atoo, who died during the U.S. Army’s 1869 bombardment of the Native village at Wrangell.
Kadashan Pole: A replica of a 1940 pole, originally gifted by Haida relatives to honor intermarriage with Tlingit women in the 1830s.
Master carvers and apprentices
Leading the project are master carvers:
Joe Young (Haida, Yahgw’laanaas clan), who learned from his grandfather Claude Morrison and carved the Bear Up The Mountain and Gunakaadeit poles.
Tommy Joseph (Tlingit, Kaagwaantaan clan), a renowned woodcarver behind the Underwater Sea Bear Pole.
TJ Young (Haida, Yahgw’láanaas clan), lead carver for the Kadashan pole.
Apprentice carvers, including Mike Hoyt, Tony Harding, Linda Churchill and Susie Beebee, also contributed, ensuring the tradition’s future.
“What an incredible experience to witness the community, literally pulling together to stand Kadashan pole in Totem Park.” Tlingit &Haida said in a Facebook post.
“This is more than art – it’s healing,” said Joe Young. “We’re reclaiming our history.”