Alaska Native leaders are urging visitors to stop using totem poles as social media props after a viral trend sparked a rise in disrespectful behavior.
Several communities and tribal groups in southeast Alaska have issued requests for visitors to be more mindful of how they interact with totem poles, after a viral social media trend has driven an increase in disrespectful behavior.
The trend typically involves dancing around totem poles to the song “Get Low” by Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz, similar to a scene from the 2009 film The Proposal. In the film, which is set in Sitka, Alaska, but was filmed in Maine, Sandra Bullock’s character dances to the song around a campfire. Some visitors have taken to doing their own versions of the dance involving totem poles.
Totem poles are monumental carvings by the Indigenous peoples of the northern Pacific coast, stretching from Alaska through Canada and to the U.S. northwest, including Haida, Tlingít, and Tsimshian communities in Alaska and British Columbia, Kwakwaka’wakw and Nuu-chah-nulth communities in British Columbia, and Coast Salish communities in British Columbia and Washington.
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Totem poles are common throughout the region—both historical poles raised long ago, and contemporary ones raised more recently by the tribes that still inhabit the communities. The poles have traditionally been used to illustrate legends, record clan lineage, memorialize the deceased, welcome visitors, or shame offenders. Others call attention to contemporary social issues like the role of first responders or Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).
The Alaska Native Heritage Center, Ketchikan Indian Community, and Tlingit and Haida tribes of Alaska released a joint statement condemning acts of disrespect against Alaska Native totem poles and cultural symbols, calling the acts “deeply disappointing and unacceptable.”
“Totem poles are not tourist props, social media backdrops, or objects to be mocked for entertainment. They carry our histories, clan stories, ancestors, and cultural teachings. While some may intend this trend to be fun or good-natured, the unintended consequence is that it diminishes and trivializes living Indigenous cultures,” said Richard J. Peterson, president of the Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, as part of the joint statement. “We welcome visitors to our homelands and encourage people to learn about our cultures with respect. We ask that those who visit Southeast Alaska honor our totem poles and cultural treasures with the same care they would expect for the places, histories, and traditions sacred to them.”
Other tribal leaders pointed out that totem poles are not historical relics—they continue to be constructed and hold places of significance for tribal communities.
“Totem poles are not tourist attractions created for public amusement,” said Emily Edenshaw, CEO and Tribal Administrator of Ketchikan Indian Community, as part of the joint statement. “They are expressions of identity, history, and responsibility that have been carried forward by Indigenous peoples for generations. When visitors mock these cultural treasures, they are not simply making a joke. They are showing disregard for the communities, ancestors, and living traditions those poles represent.”
The Central Council of the Tlingít and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is the largest federally recognized tribe in Alaska, with more than 38,000 Tribal Citizens. The Tribe’s Facebook also posted a link using the tag “Our Culture Is Not A Prop,” along with a link to an album highlighting the raising of totem poles in communities throughout Alaska.
The Sitka Tribe of Alaska, which represents more than 4,800 Tribal Citizens in and around the city of Sitka (Sheet’ká) issued their own statement on social media, requesting the visitor industry do more to educate visitors about respect for totem poles, which the tribe describes using the Tlingít word kootéeyaa. “Dancing around kootéeyaa is disrespectful, and we ask the visitor industry to strongly discourage this misguided behavior.”
Rob Allen, interim general manager for the tribe, told Sitka’s Raven Radio that incidents with the city’s totem poles aren’t new, but have increased this summer.
Visit Sitka, the tourism promoter for the city, issued their own social media post with guidelines for interacting with totem poles.
“Taking photos can be a meaningful way to remember your time here, but please do so with respect. Do not climb on, touch, imitate, or interact with totem poles in ways that diminish their cultural significance or the people and communities they represent.”