Bear totem in Ketchikan, Alaska

Ketchikan, Alaska, ca. 1895. Original silver print photograph, 6.5” x 4.5”. Inscription in ink “Totem, Ketchikan” at lower-left corner of photo, with another inscription reading “Ketchikan” on verso. CONDITION: Good, fading, some toning and creasing to upper and lower edges, .5” tear at lower right corner. Original photograph of a grave totem in Ketchikan. It is most likely the grave of a member of the Kian (or Kyan) family, as the bear was the crest of Chief George Kian.

Chief Kian (circa 1880–1955) was a chief of the Tlingit people. In 1885, Kian sold over a hundred acres of the land that became Ketchikan to Mike Martin, a pioneer and early settler of the area.

REFERENCES: “Chief Kian Totem Pole” at Streamliner Memories online.