Made of wood, deerskin, ermine, spruce, root, iron nail, bird beak, 20 1/2 inches high. Among the Tlingit of the American Northwest Coast, the raven is used in crest art to denote the lineage of a clan. The myth here tells of a raven who killed a large salmon, which he didn't want to share with other animals. He ordered them to search for cooking utensils and ate the entire salmon in their absence. This was a metaphor equating the raven's right to its prey with the clan's exclusive ownership of its raven crests.
The crest emphasizes the force of the raven with its prominent blue beak edged with red. It symbolizes that the clan chief has power associated with the flight of birds.
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