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© Adelaide de Menil		Object name     Photograph Culture of Origin     Tlingit Subject     House Post Photographer     Adelaide de Menil Exhibit Label     This Eagle house post is one of four house posts from the inside of the Eagle Nest House of the Kaagwaantaan clan in Sitka. The design of these posts depicts the Mother Eagle story, in which a young eagle brings fish from the sea to feed a girl and her grandmother who are the only survivors of a terrible sickness among the members of the clan. The girl had taught the eagle to believe she was its mother. The girl survives, matures, and marries a man from the opposite moiety, and Kaagwaantaan children are born, ensuring the survival of the clan. All of these posts illustrate the Mother Eagle in slightly different forms, each sitting atop a round figure with a face that represents her nest. The more decorative posts were displayed in the back of the house where the high caste people and important visitors spent their time. Like all house posts, these stood inside and were structurally important in supporting the clan house roof. The notches cut in the tops show where the main roof poles rested. Source: Alaska Natural History Association 2005 Carved History: The Totem Poles and House Posts of Sitka National Historical Park. Anchorage, Alaska: National Park Service and the U.S. Department of Interior. Pages 12-13. Original Photo Source ID     de Menil 66-8-41A/31A Source     Ms. Adelaide De Menil Credit     Gift of Adelaide de Menil

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