The crests of Tlingit noble families and those of other northern Northwest Coast tribes are usually graphic representations of the creatures with which the ancestors interacted in the distant past. Perhaps the most important of these rare treasures is the Grizzly Bear mask of the Nanyaayi clan of the Stikine Wolf phratry. The Bear mask and skin costume were considered the clan's most noble relics and always were given a prominent place in the funeral displays of each succeeding holder of the Shakes title. The whole costume was worn on important potlatch occasions and at times, apparently, for pure entertainment. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)

Found directly in front of the Burke Museum, this is a replica of a grave monument in Howkan, Alaska. Called "Single Fin", the original monument was commissioned around 1880 by Moses Koohl-Keet as a memorial to his uncle, head of Brown Bear House, a branch of the Quetas Ravens. It was carved by John Wallace, then a young man. In 1985, Koohl-keet's relatives witnessed the unveiling of the replica at the Burke Museum's 100th anniversary. Curator Emeritus Bill Holm, carved it based on photographs of the Howkan whale, and on the original fin, which is in the Burke Museum's ethnology collection (cat. no. 1-1682).

The paint is black and red.

This is a replica of a pole that once stood in front of the house named "House Passers-by Always Looked Up At" in the village of Haina (New Gold Harbor) on Maude Island in the Queen Charlotte Islands. It was erected around 1870 by "He Whose Word Is Obeyed," belonging to the clan of Those Born on the Stasaos Coast, and displays both his crests and those of his wife, "The Sound of Coppers Clanging," of the Pebble Town Eagles. From bottom to top the figures represent: a killer whale, its upturned tail decorated with a bird head; a woman, identified by the labret in her lip, grasping the whale's dorsal fin and wearing a ringed basketry hat; two watchmen figures at her sides; Tsamaos, the personification of a supernatural river snag who capsizes the canoes of the unwary; a heron with its wings enclosing a human figure who grasps the heron's tail feathers; a man wearing a whale skin with flippers, dorsal fin, and tail; and two watchmen at his sides wearing ringed basketry hats who warn the owners of approaching visitors of danger.This replica was carved by Bill Holm, 1971, based on photos of the original pole, which no longer survives.

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Some people equate her with Sasquatch - Bigfoot - the shy hairy giant of the forest. Others view her as a fearsome mythical creature that can be the source of great wealth. The privilege of representing her in carving and performance is a prized heritage of some Kwakwaka'wakw chiefs. Erected in Gwa'yasdam's on Gilford Island, B.C., for three years, the original Dzunuk'wa figure faced down the beach toward the owner's in-laws, who had not paid a marriage debt. Such "ridicule poles" were raised to shame someone who owed a debt to a chief. When the in-laws honored the debt, the pole was pivoted to face the water. Symbols of wealth-shield-shaped coppers were then added to her head and hands. The figure was carved by Bill Holm in 1970 based on photos of the original pole and the original head that is now part of the Burke's ethnology collection (2.5E645). At that time her body was painted black. Based on analysis of historical photographs and evidence in the works of Emily Carr, Bill Holm has come to believe the body of the original sculpture was painted red. The replica was changed from black to red in 2002, when it was placed outside.