This is documentary highlights the installation of the first 12 of 30 totems for Totem Pole Trail, an initiative launched in 2021 through a $2.9 million grant from the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project. The Monuments Project is an unprecedented $250 million commitment by the Mellon Foundation to transform the nation’s commemorative landscape.
Through this grant, SHI hired 10 Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian artists, including TJ and Joe Young of Hydaburg, Jon Rowan of Klawock, David R. Boxley of Metlakatla, Nathan and Stephen Jackson of Saxman, Nicholas Galanin and Tommy Joseph of Sitka, Robert Mills of Kake and Mick Beasley of Juneau. Haida artist Warren Peele was also hired to make a totem pole for the project in 2022 through a grant from the Denali Commission. TJ Young made two of the poles for the project.
The Mellon grant also funded apprentices to mentor with each of the artists.
“We discovered through this process that there aren’t a lot of master artist Northwest Coast totem pole carvers. SHI’s Native Artist Committee considers a person a master artist totem pole carver if he/she has carved at least five totem poles. With the limited number of master totem pole carvers, the mentor-apprentice arrangement became a vital component of the project," Worl said.
“These indigenous master carvers and artists have made even more visible the stories and cultural legacies of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples to all who experience Southeast Alaska,” said Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Mellon Foundation. “The Totem Trail, together with other vital community commemorative efforts across the United States, is re-shaping our understanding of monuments and memorials to better reflect the complexity and multiplicity of histories in our country. We are deeply honored to support this work in Juneau.”
The totem poles will be an entry point from the waterfront to Heritage Square, a space encompassing the intersection of Seward and Front Streets and surrounding area that was named by the city in 2018. Each totem pole will eventually feature a corresponding story board that identifies the clan, crests and information related to the artwork. Learn more about Sealaska Heritage here: www.sealaskaheritage.org/
/ shinstitute
/ shinstitute
/ shinstitute