A totem pole is a public record of the lives and history of the people. Tlingit life is based on the rich natural resources of Southeast Alaska, on respect for all living things and on a unique and complex social structures. Totem poles reflect these ways, making public record of the lives and history of the people who had them carved. They represent pride in clans and ancestors and mark the success and renown of their clans or families.

How to look at Totem Poles The human figure at the top is the Village Watchman. The legendary watchmen on totem poles warned people of approaching danger or reported a thief in their midst. The raven in human form is a transformation figure. A strong straight beak distinguishes Raven. The base figure is a bear, distinguished by a protruding tongue and large claw feet.

Types of of Totem Poles
Memorial poles commemorate individuals. Raven is portrayed on this Haida memorial column. (raven on top of pole by itself). Mortuary pole columns are hollowed to accommodate the cremated remains of the deceased.
Legend poles illustrate folklore or real like experience is an example of one that tells a story. At the top are two salmon, symbol of the Coho Salmon clan, a subdivision of the Tlingit Raven moiety. At the base of the pole is the octopus with its tentacles extending up to Sleeping Man and the Coho people.
History poles record the history of a clan. The Tlingit pole carved in 1999 and erected at the Fort Site pays tribute to the Kiks.adi leader K'alyaan who courageously led his people in battle to defend their homeland against attacking Russians.
Crest poles portray the ancestry of a family. This Haida crest pole portrays the emblems of the Yaadaas clan. It is from the house of Dzeillu in the former Haida village of Kasaan.

Formlines
Northwest Coast Indian art is usually based on the formline which scholar Bill Holm describes as "a curving, swelling, and diminishing the that establishes the principal shapes and design units within a piece of art. It is this formline that makes two dimensional art forms seem to take on a third dimension. Its proportions run from thick to thin and travel in a curvilinear pattern to connect and outline the 3 principal elements found in the art: the ovoid, "U" and "S" shapes. With the use of formlines, abstract images of natural or supernatural creatures can be constructed on flat surfaces. The ovoid is the most characteristic single design unit in formline art. The ovoid is convex on its upper side and at its ends. The lower side is usually concave, but with less curvature than the upper side to retain a greater width in the center. The ovoid is used as eyes, joints, and various space fillers. U forms result when both ends of a formline turn in the same direction and each tapers to a pooin at their juncture with another formline. They can be long, thin and feather-like or a wide, solid form. Ofter the space left between primary and secondary formlines takes an "S" shape. Or a nearly rectangular form. With one pair of diagonal corners rounded and the other pair pointed. In flat painting, it is ourlines in red or black. In relief carvings, it is recessed and, if painted, is blue-green.

Color is added to enhance the carved art. Black is used to accent ares such as eye pupils, eyelid lines, eyebrows and claes, as well as in primary formlines. Red is used on lips, nostrils and sometimes on bodies, and as a secondary formline element in two-dimensional areas. Blue-green is used in eye sockets and in two-dimensional design areas.