A totem pole sits on a truck bed as it awaits
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2025 5:10 am
Young said he’s excited to finally see the poles all come together, and it feels special to see totem poles be celebrated and welcomed by the community of Juneau. He said that wasn’t always the case growing up in Southeast Alaska.
“When we grew up there were no poles being raised in the communities, no poles being carved,” he said. “We wish this kind of stuff would happen when we were kids, but they were very few and far between. We do feel it’s a privilege to do what we get to do now and it’s an honor to be a part of this project.”
to be raised at Overstreet Park Sunday afternoon. The pole is one of the first 12 of 30 totem poles to be raised to create a Kootéeyaa Deiyí (totem pole trail) lining the waterfront in Juneau. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
A totem pole sits on a truck bed as it awaits to be raised at Overstreet Park Sunday afternoon. The pole is one of the first 12 of 30 totem poles to be raised to create a Kootéeyaa Deiyí (totem pole trail) lining the waterfront in Juneau. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Nicholas Galanin, a Tlingit carver from Sitka agreed, and phone number list said he couldn’t recall a time when this many totem poles had been raised all at once. Galanin spent since last June carving a pole that represents the Kaagwaantaan clan, his father’s clan.
“It’s going to be monumental,” he said. “It’s incredible to see this now in our lifetime — I don’t know the last time there has been this many poles in progress going up at once, it’s pretty major.”
Galanin has been carving for more than 25 years, first doing projects with his father, uncle and other local carvers in Sitka as a young kid. The pole included in this project will be his second raised in Juneau. The first, the Yanyeidi Wolf totem pole, was raised at Savikko Park in June of 2018.
Galanin said he’s excited to come to Juneau once again, and celebrate all the work of the many artists who contributed to both his pole and the others to be raised.
“It’s definitely a monumental vision, it’s an honor to be a part of it,” he said. “I think of it as life work and there’s a lot of reasons that made this process special to me personally. To represent and honor the Kaagwaantaan clan and honor them as best I can through the work, it’s a dream.”
The carvers whose poles are to be raised include TJ and Joe Young of Hydaburg, Jon Rowan of Klawock, David Robert Boxley of Metlakatla, Nathan and Stephen Jackson of Saxman, Nicholas Galanin and Tommy Joseph of Sitka, Robert Mills of Kake, Mick Beasley of Juneau, and Haida artist Warren Peele.
“When we grew up there were no poles being raised in the communities, no poles being carved,” he said. “We wish this kind of stuff would happen when we were kids, but they were very few and far between. We do feel it’s a privilege to do what we get to do now and it’s an honor to be a part of this project.”
to be raised at Overstreet Park Sunday afternoon. The pole is one of the first 12 of 30 totem poles to be raised to create a Kootéeyaa Deiyí (totem pole trail) lining the waterfront in Juneau. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
A totem pole sits on a truck bed as it awaits to be raised at Overstreet Park Sunday afternoon. The pole is one of the first 12 of 30 totem poles to be raised to create a Kootéeyaa Deiyí (totem pole trail) lining the waterfront in Juneau. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Nicholas Galanin, a Tlingit carver from Sitka agreed, and phone number list said he couldn’t recall a time when this many totem poles had been raised all at once. Galanin spent since last June carving a pole that represents the Kaagwaantaan clan, his father’s clan.
“It’s going to be monumental,” he said. “It’s incredible to see this now in our lifetime — I don’t know the last time there has been this many poles in progress going up at once, it’s pretty major.”
Galanin has been carving for more than 25 years, first doing projects with his father, uncle and other local carvers in Sitka as a young kid. The pole included in this project will be his second raised in Juneau. The first, the Yanyeidi Wolf totem pole, was raised at Savikko Park in June of 2018.
Galanin said he’s excited to come to Juneau once again, and celebrate all the work of the many artists who contributed to both his pole and the others to be raised.
“It’s definitely a monumental vision, it’s an honor to be a part of it,” he said. “I think of it as life work and there’s a lot of reasons that made this process special to me personally. To represent and honor the Kaagwaantaan clan and honor them as best I can through the work, it’s a dream.”
The carvers whose poles are to be raised include TJ and Joe Young of Hydaburg, Jon Rowan of Klawock, David Robert Boxley of Metlakatla, Nathan and Stephen Jackson of Saxman, Nicholas Galanin and Tommy Joseph of Sitka, Robert Mills of Kake, Mick Beasley of Juneau, and Haida artist Warren Peele.