‘Respect is not optional’: Alaska Native leaders denounce visitors mocking totem poles in social media trend

'We encourage greater education, stronger partnerships with Indigenous communities, and a shared commitment to honoring the First Peoples of these lands'

Visitors walk past a totem pole on the downtown cruise dock on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Jasz Garrett

Juneau Independent

Recent videos on social media show visitors “mocking, imitating or otherwise disrespecting Alaska Native totem poles and cultural symbols” as part of a trend that is “deeply disappointing and unacceptable,” a coalition of tribal officials declared Friday.

For the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples, totem poles represent the histories, identities, relationships, and responsibilities of clans, houses, and families, according to a joint press release by the Ketchikan Indian Community, Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, and Alaska Native Heritage Center. 

“Totem poles are not tourist props, social media backdrops, or objects to be mocked for entertainment,” said Tlingit and Haida President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson. “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.”

“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.”

Peterson, through a social media post, noted he would not share the videos. 

“But I do want to share that while I am sure that the tourists coming to our communities may have really just been trying to have ‘fun’, with their videos dancing around totem poles to the gross soundtrack from the movie ‘The Proposal’ they are in fact incredibly ignorant and harmful,” he wrote. “Our totem poles have been the subject of ridicule and condemnation since the first ships ever hit our lands, they are sacred to us, they represent clans, history, healing, cultural resurrection, and so much more.”

He added Tlingit and Haida saw Friday's public response as an opportunity to reach out to visitors, cruise lines and other transportation operators, and educate them on the harm their actions are causing. 

“We can do so with respect and hopefully work to help them understand,” Peterson wrote. 

Alongside Tlingit and Haida, the Ketchikan Indian Community called upon tourism organizations, elected officials, industry leaders, and visitors alike “to reject racist behavior, cultural mockery, and the exploitation of Indigenous identity for profit.” The Ketchikan Indian Community is a federally recognized tribe serving Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian tribal citizens.

“We encourage greater education, stronger partnerships with Indigenous communities, and a shared commitment to honoring the First Peoples of these lands,” according to the press release.

Dixie Hutchinson, a spokesperson for Tlingit and Haida, said social media has amplified the visibility of these types of interactions with totem poles.

“As more visitors share photos and videos online, instances that may have previously gone unnoticed are now reaching much larger audiences,” she wrote in an email Friday. “From Tlingit & Haida's perspective, the issue is less about how often it occurs and more about how our cultural heritage is being treated.”

The press release states visitors are welcome, but being a guest carries responsibility. It asks tourists visit Alaska with the intention to learn, listen and experience the richness of Alaska Native cultures.

“For Alaska Native peoples, culture is not something we visit — it is something we live,” said Kelsey Ciugun Wallace, president and CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center. “Every totem pole, carving, song, regalia, language, and story across Alaska Native cultures reflects generations of knowledge, responsibility, and connection to place. Visitors are welcome here, and we want people to experience the richness and diversity of Alaska Native cultures. With that opportunity comes a responsibility to respect the people, places, and traditions that make those experiences possible.”

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is a nonprofit organization that preserves and strengthens the traditions, languages and arts of Alaska’s Native Peoples through statewide collaboration, celebration and education.

The press release states the social media trend reflects broader challenges that Indigenous peoples continue to face, “including cultural appropriation, the sale of counterfeit Native art, the misrepresentation of Indigenous histories, and the commercialization of Native cultures without meaningful Indigenous leadership and involvement.”

“Too often, Indigenous cultures are celebrated when they generate economic benefit and ignored when respect and accountability are required,” the press release states.

“Totem poles are not tourist attractions created for public amusement,” said Emily Edenshaw, CEO and Tribal Administrator of Ketchikan Indian Community. “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 declaration ends with an assertion that “respect is not optional” and “our cultures are not trends.”

• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.