This story has been updated with additional information.
Installing up to five wooden totem poles at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center carved by local tribal artists is being proposed by the U.S. Forest Service, in connection with a co-stewardship agreement with area tribal officials to collaborate on management decisions and future plans for the recreational area.
A notification of what is being called the Kootéeyaa Project was published Jan. 8 by the U.S. Forest Service, which states “an interdisciplinary team of resource specialists has begun their environmental analyses of the proposed installations.” An open house for people to learn about the project is scheduled from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Juneau Ranger District at 8510 Mendenhall Loop Rd., with Forest Service and tribal officials scheduled to be available to answer questions.
“The poles would be carved by local tribal artists and represent several Tlingit and Haida clans,” along with their past history and present-day culture, the notice states. “Totems would be up to 50 feet tall with concrete footings up to 6 feet in diameter. They would be raised in previously developed locations, so soil disturbance and vegetation removal would be minimal.”
A map shows the proposed totems would be near the pavilion next to the main parking lot. The proposal calls for the first totem pole to be raised by 2026.
”This project represents a significant step towards acknowledging and honoring the deep-rooted connection our people have to this land,” Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson, president of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, wrote in a post on his Facebook page Tuesday. “For generations, totem poles have served as powerful storytellers, preserving our history, values, and cultural identity. They are not simply art; they are living embodiments of our ancestors’ wisdom and artistry. By erecting these poles at the visitor center, we create a space where our stories can be shared with the world, fostering understanding and appreciation for our rich heritage.”
Local tribal members were hired as cultural ambassadors for the first time during last year’s tourism season, following the stewardship agreement the Forest Service signed in the fall of 2023 with Tlingit and Haida. Last September a 40-year-old Porcupine and Beaver Totem Pole carved by late master Lingít carver Amos Wallace that had been at the U.S. Forest Service office in Juneau was relocated to inside the glacier visitor center in a rededication ceremony.
The proposed new totem poles are a continuation of efforts being made through the stewardship agreement to share the Indigenous heritage of the area, said Victoria Sutton, director of the visitor’s center. But many of the specifics, including who will carve the totems and what will be on them, are still to be determined.
Dixie Hutchinson, a spokesperson for Tlingit and Haida, stated in an email Tuesday the Forest Service approached the tribe about the project, and “Tlingit & Haida can support the USFS connecting with the people of Áak’w Kwáan.”
Public comments about the proposal can be sent to Sutton at victoria.sutton@usda.gov, with the Forest Service’s notice stating “those received by January 28, 2025, will be most helpful.”
New and relocated totem poles are showing up in other locations around Juneau, including 12 currently raised along the downtown waterfront as part of what Sealaska Heritage Institute hopes will be a 30-pole Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail). Goldbelt Inc. relocated three totems from its former downtown building to its new campus at Vintage Park for its 50th anniversary celebration last year, and a Healing Totem Pole commissioned by the AWARE shelter in collaboration with Tlingit and Haida was unveiled in October of 2022.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
