[3] Indigenous scholar Amy Parent (also known as Sigidimnak' Nox̱s Ts'aawit) referred to the Ni'isjoohl pole itself as "a living constitutional and visual archive".

[4] In the 1860s, master carver Oyea Tait of Gitwinksihlkw was commissioned by Joanna Moody (known as 'Ntsitskaos, or "Grandmother-scalp"), a member of the House of Ni'isjoohl living in Ank'idaa (also spelled Angyada), to create the pole.

It was created as a memorial to Ts'wawit, a warrior who was next in line to be chief after Neestsawl of the Ganada (Raven) family, but was killed in conflict with the Tsimshian people.

[3][5]: 20  The majority of the pole is carved from a single piece of pacific red cedar, apart from a removable cap at the top, and it stands at 36 feet (11 m) tall.

[6] Robert Kerr of the Royal Scottish Museum gave the pole two names, the first being Hlkwarœt ("Small hat") after the removal cap, and the second being Masrayait ("White bullhead") from the fish represented on it.

During that summer, Barbeau stole several poles from the Nisga'a Nation while most people were absent during hunting and fishing season.

[3] In 2019, Indigenous scholar Amy Parent was asked by Nisga'a nation leaders to research the Ni'isjoohl pole in order for the Lax̱g̱altsʼap community to build an accurate replica.

[9] In April 2021, Parent gave a talk at Simon Fraser University's Research Centre for Scottish Studies on the project.