On May 16, 2025, a totem pole was rehomed from the Delta Flight Museum to the Chilkoot Indian Association and dedicated in its new home in Haines, Alaska.

The Chilkoot Indian Association represents a Native Sovereign Nation that integrates Chilkoot culture, values, and beliefs into daily life and work to improve the quality of life for their community.

The Delta Flight Museum is committed to preserve history in accurate and authentic ways and was overjoyed to support the efforts of the nation to reclaim indigenous land and artifacts.

Director of Exhibits & Public Programs, Nina Thomas, attended the dedication ceremony and had the privilege of speaking on behalf of the the Delta Flight Museum.

Here were her remarks:

It’s a privilege to speak to you today on behalf of the Delta Flight Museum. My name is Nina Thomas, and I am the museum’s Director of Exhibits & Public Programs. 

For over ten years, this 14 ½ foot, 1,300-pound totem pole, made from a solid piece of Alaskan red cedar, stood in our museum – located at Delta Air Lines’ headquarters in Atlanta. While it was admired by visitors, we knew it didn’t quite fit within the context of an aviation collection. The more we learned about its origins – that it was carved by artists from Alaska Indian Arts in 1969 – the more we felt a responsibility to ask: Why is this here—and is this where it belongs?

The totem pole was originally carved and gifted to Western Airlines, headquartered in Los Angeles, in honor of their first 40-year employee and to acknowledge the airline’s commitment to Alaska. And when Western merged with Delta in 1987, it was moved to Atlanta—without the cultural context it truly deserved.

As we approached Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2023, our team began actively looking for a way to gift the totem pole to a place where it could be understood and honored for what it truly is: not just an artifact, but a powerful expression of identity, tradition, and storytelling.

Reaching out to the Chilkoot Indian Association was, honestly, serendipitous. We had no idea they had just recently received the parade grounds and tribal house, marking a milestone for their efforts to reclaim Indigenous land fund a cultural center that would help preserve Alaskan Indigenous history. The timing, the connection, and the shared sense of purpose made the path forward clear.

The Delta Flight Museum's responsibility to archive history is equally as important as its responsibility to preserve history in accurate and authentic ways. This gift from us is given with only the hope that the totem pole will be welcomed into a new home, among the people who understand its origins and the cultural significance it carries.

A big thanks to Delta’s Airport Customer Service and Cargo teams for securing this piece of history and shipping it safely to Alaska, and to Mniluzahe Berg – a member of the Oglala Lakota nation who led a prayer of protection and gratitude before its journey across America.

We’re incredibly grateful to the Chilkoot Indian Association for partnering with us throughout this process. And most of all, we’re thankful to the artists and cultural leaders—past and present—who carry forward the traditions that give this totem pole its lasting meaning.