2009.7.1.154
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Item
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[ca. 1880 - ca. 1915]
Part of Archdeacon W. H. Collison fonds
Two carved poles stand in foreground, a third smaller pole visible by wood structure in background.
The pole at left is the Chief Skedans mortuary pole, which was raised in the Haida village of Skidegate about 1870. It honours the Raven Chief of Skedans and depicts the chief's hereditary crests. The two tiny figures in the bear's ears are the chief's daughter and son-in-law who erected the pole and gave a potlach for the chief's memorial. The rectangle board at the top of the original pole covered a cavity that held the chief's remains.
The pole at left may be a whale pole.
Handwritten annotation on verso reads: "For heading of Page 12. Fin Back Whale Crest. [?] Totems, S.E. Alaska". This original annotation is believed to be incorrect.