Carved and originally located in the village of Kayung on Graham Island in British Columbia, Canada, it dates from around 1850.

In 1903 it was sold by Charles Frederick Newcombe to the British Museum, where since 2007 it has been a prominent exhibit in the Great Court.

The craft of making totem poles, built as heraldic signs but misinterpreted by missionaries, was at that point in decline.

[1] It was purchased from Charles Frederick Newcombe,[2] who sold a large number of totem poles to museums in Europe.

[3] Due to its size, the 12-metre (39 ft) pole spent most of its time at the British Museum confined to a stairwell, as this was the only space of sufficient height available.

The stories themselves are corroborated by another of the museum's totem poles, which was obtained with a model of a First Nations longhouse provided by Keen.

[6] The villagers decided to change the hooks they were using to include a type made of wood and bone, with two barbs.

[6] To get back his beak and obtain food, Yetl took on human shape and was accepted by the villagers as a guest, disguising his wound by only showing the upper half of his face.

The figure at the top of the pole shows Yetl when he appeared as a chief and sat down to eat with the villagers.