Retaining the legacy is an ongoing project. In one room, you can see cedar logs prepped for carving, and the park uses modern-day methods to preserve and protect the poles.

Every Totem pole is meaningful, every carving intentional. Tlingit and Haida Native Americans are divided into moieties (matrilineal groups), clans, and house groups. Each pole tells a story of a house group’s history, culture, and lineage.

The ovoid form line is central to the art in totem poles, serving as the head of a human, to help form the shape of a tail, and other uses. The Natives used pigments made from salmon eggs, hematite, clam shells, lichen, graphite, and copper. Black, red, and blue-green are the most common colors.

Totem Bight currently features 13 Totem poles and a clan house. The interior of the house consists of a fireplace surrounded by a platform. As many as 50 people could inhabit a house and would include several families of a particular lineage. Removable floor boards concealed storage for housewares, blankets, and treasured objects, while food was hung from beams and rafters. The families had their own spaces within the house and shared the fire. Totem poles stand at each corner, extending from the beams to the platform.

The park sits on the shores of the Tongass Narrows, a body of water that is part of the Alaska Inside Passage. Though the poles at the park are all replicas of originals that stood at different locations, it is difficult not to get swept away in thought, imagining the Tlingit or Haida people emerging from the clan house, beginning their day, so much of their society centered around topography similar to that found at the park. Thankfully, the beauty and intracity of Totem poles can live on for others to see, providing a window into how some societies expressed their family stories, world views, culture, and religion. Totem Bight is a treasure to explore.