Four Story Totem Pole, (sculpture).

Four Story Totem Pole, (sculpture).

Wallace, John Dewey, 1861-1952, sculptor.

Wallace, Lee, sculptor.

Four Story Totem Pole, (sculpture).

John Wallace Pole, (sculpture).

Monster Frog Pole, (sculpture).

1940. Relocated 1963. Relocated 1993.

Red cedar, painted.

Approx. 49 ft. x 90 in. x 20.5 in.

Totem pole whose figures tell four stories. From top to bottom, the stories and figures are "The Monster Frog," with a frog, beige male figure holding a red and black V-shape, black raven and Monster Frog; "The Man with the Fish Trap," with a bear chief, V-shaped fish trap and black bear; "Chaawank (or Tcaawunk) and the Land Otter Men," with a beige shaman with long black hair holding a brown and grey otter in his proper left hand and a short black rod in his proper right hand and wearing a yellow, blue and black skirt; and "The Shaman at Island Point Town," with a shaman, Black Oyster Catcher rattle, octopus and halibut.

Ethnic -- Indian -- Haida

Figure group -- Male

Mythology -- American Indian -- Chaawank

Occupation -- Religion -- Shaman

Animal -- Fish -- Octopus

Animal -- Fish -- Halibut

Animal -- Mouse

Outdoor Sculpture -- Alaska -- Juneau

Coadministered by City and Borough of Juneau, Juneau-Douglas City Museum, 155 South Seward Street, Juneau, Alaska 99801

Coadministered by Juneau Rotary Club, Juneau, Alaska

Located Juneau-Douglas City Museum, 114 West Fourth Street, Juneau, Alaska

Formerly located Capital Elementary School, 155 South Seward Street, Juneau, Alaska 99801 1963-1993.

Originally installed Naket Packing Company, Hydaburg, Alaska 1940-1962.

This pole was carved as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps and was reportedly purchased by the Haida Indians with the assistance of Edward Keithan and R. N. De Armond. It stood at the Naket Packing Company from 1940 to 1962, when it purchased by the Juneau Rotary Club. The pole once bore a wooden plaque which read "Juneau Walking Tour," and its base once had a metal "Rotary International" insignia. The Club donated the pole to the City of Juneau and installed it at the Capital Elementary School in the school yard. The pole was painted in 1962 as an aesthetic and preservative measure, though neighbors argued the paints used were not traditional and were ineffective at preservation. Although the Club donated the pole, it retained responsibility for its maintenance. In 1993-1994, it arranged to have the pole restored by Lee Wallace, grandson of the artist, and moved to the Juneau-Douglas Museum. This was done over the objections of neighbors at the Seward Street location who wanted the pole to remain in their neighborhood. At the time of the SOS! survey, this issue was unresolved. IAS files include a related article from the Juneau Empire, May 5, 1994 and additional citations.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Alaska survey, 1994.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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