Tlingit carver Tommy Joseph fashions the body of a cormorant atop the new pole using the historic pole as his guide/NPS

Editor's note: The following article was submitted by Becky Latanich from Sitka National Historical Park.

One of the poles along Totem Trail fell on August 10th. It was a gentle fall though under the direct supervision of Chief of Maintenance Mike Trainor. Closing that portion of the pathway all morning to passing foot traffic, visitors were still able to watch the procedure from the diminishing shoreline; if they were willing to stand in the rain as the tide came in.

With its careful removal, the Cormorant Memorial Pole began the next phase of its special life cycle at Sitka National Historical Park. During a regular assessment of the park’s totem poles in 2011, conservators discovered that the Cormorant Pole was beginning to show signs of deterioration. Even though the Cormorant’s hollow head has been repeatedly filled with wood preservative and is capped with a lead helmet, southeast Alaska’s persistent rain forest drizzle ultimately took its toll.

This means the time has come for the Cormorant Memorial Pole to be recarved. Looking over the old pole’s decayed wings and failing beak, Tlingit carver Tommy Joseph doesn’t know the exact date that elder carver Nathan Jackson created it, but he doesn’t need to. There’s still enough detail left to model the art Jackson has spent his life perpetuating.

Tommy is more interested in the blank replacement sitting next to the old pole and getting the hoisting chains he needs to rotate the 26-foot log. This is not a new process for the master carver. In fact, he’s worked with this tree before.

Ten years ago when the red cedar was brought in from the southern end of the Tongass National Forest, Tommy Joseph was the one who split it lengthwise so two totem poles could be taken from its fresh new grain. He even lent his tools to the Young brothers, who turned the first half into the Yaadaas Crest Pole recarving that is now towering over the park’s entrance. After that, Tommy whittled away the second half’s 50-foot length for various park projects before stashing away the remainder behind the maintenance yard where it sat growing moss.

Now it is time to turn this forgotten asset into the third generation of the Cormorant Memorial Column. For those wanting to see the first generation of this unique totem, a free stop at the visitor center is all that is required. Donated to Alaska Territory Governor John Brady in 1903 from a Tlingit village on Prince of Wales Island, photographic evidence from Tuxekan tells us the Cormorant Pole was less than 15 years old at the time it was removed. Travelling to both St. Louis in 1904 and then to Portland, Oregon in 1905, it came to Sitka in 1906 where it has stayed as a lasting part of this national historical park.

Enduring more than 70 years outside, it is now preserved alongside other original poles under the cover of Totem Hall.

In contrast to traditional poles, the totems at Sitka National Historical Park receive regular maintenance, repairs and even full-blown recarvings in order to ensure both the art and the stories they honor are preserved. Unlike the team efforts that produced both the K’alyaan Pole at the battle site or the Haa Léelk’u Ha’s Kaasdahéeni Deiyi Kootéeyaa Pole in the midst of the serpentine walkway, this season of carving will be done alone.

More in tune with Tommy’s 20-year tenure at the park as both artist and educator, he’ll be working next to the visitor center every weekday for about the next four weeks. 

“It's awesome to have Tommy Joseph back in the carving shed ‘making chips!’" said park Superintendent Mary A. Miller. "I invite Sitkans and our visiting public to come view the recarving of the Cormorant Pole, visit and be part of our continuing totem pole production and preservation legacy here in Sitka. Find your park!"