This park illustrates the Alaskan Indians way of life. It has a clan house and totems typical of 19th-century Indian villages. The setting, the former site of a traditional fishing camp, is a peaceful spot on the edge of Tongass Narrows, a short walk through woods. The park has guides to give talks, explanatory signs, a printed guide, an interpretive website, and a small bookstore to aid understanding.
In 1938, salvaging and remaking these large cedar monuments began. Skilled Indian carvers using traditional tools carved copies of original poles while teaching young artisans the skills. Modern paint with colours copied from traditional Native paints decorated the totems.
Inside the house is a single large room with a central fireplace surrounded by a planked platform. Such a house would have served as living quarters for several families of a particular clan. Each family had its own space, but shared the common fire. Removable floorboards provided storage for utensils, treasured items, and blankets, while food items hung from the beams and rafters.
A totem often stood at the front entrance of the family house to honour ancestors; to show the clan's standing, rights, and accomplishments; and to record a memorable ceremony or spiritual experience. A totem pole is a symbol of the qualities, experience, and exploits of the clan. The connection between the clan and the various figures carved into the pole may have been as a result a special gift from the animal, fish, or bird spirits. Some clans claimed certain totem figures as ancestors.
A 14-foot replica of a rescued totem of "The Man Wearing the Bear Hat" stands in the Park. The original totem was a memorial grave marker on Cat Island in southeast Alaska. This grave marker represented a man wearing a large carved wooden hat surmounted by a bear's head. Painted killer whales decorate the hat’s brim. Important occasions merited wearing such a hat and telling the stories it symbolizes, perhaps dramatising a little.
The story of the Man Wearing the Bear Hat goes: A long while ago, murderers killed the chief of the Bear Clan, and the killers refused to compensate for his death. The Bear clansman made a wooden hat, carving the bear with mouth open and teeth bared as though ready to attach an enemy. They then invited the murderer and his relatives to a potlatch – a ceremonial distribution of property and gifts - and challenged them either to pay for the death of the chief or to prepare for war. As the accused still did not pay, the Bear Clan attacked them. Since then, the Bear with teeth showing warns the Bear people are proud and will attack their enemies if wronged. The whale fin and painted killer whales on the post represent another crest of the group.
This is the story of one totem – just think of all the stories that have rotted away!
From journal North to Alaska Princess Style