If you are using the term heraldry as a complex symbolic language that represents lineage, affiliation and other elements of a groups history, then I think the comparison with NW Coast monumental sculpture is apt. If you are looking at heraldry in the simplest sense as identifiers on the battlefield, then, not so much.

Using the Haida as an example, largely because Haida sculpture "is epitomized by the gigantic totem and house poles..." and," the images equaled the power of any of the world's sculpture" (Holm 1990), the figures represented on the poles "were crests or figures in the mythical adventures of lineage ancestors" (Holm 1990:615). The raising of these poles served to demonstrate the wealth and prestige of its owner and reinforce their position in the community. Bear in mind that these poles occur very late in prehistory and early in the historic record. It was the use of metal tools acquired through trade with European fur traders that allowed the proliferation of monumental wood sculpture. Holm argues that among the Haida and Tlingit, sculpture in utilitarian items such as bowls and spoon handles, and ceremonial items such as masks, helmets and rattles "often mirrored the characteristics of the great poles".

Tsimshian poles were designed as crest displays incorporating plants, regalia and natural phenomena. They tend to be more representational and more "plain" than those from further north. The Haisla, Bella Bella and Kwakwaka'wak (formerly Kwakiutl) art tended to be more reserved and representational. As you get further south from Haida country, the monumental art tends to reflect more mythology and less celebration of lineage. By the time you are in the Salish Sea, the carvings tend to reflect animals and mythical creatures. The Nu-cha-nulth house posts tend to be more naturalistic and incorporate more portraiture and realistic natural scenes.

I know of no comparisons of NW wood sculpture with European heraldry by explorers of any kind.

I do not know enough about European heraldry to provide you a definitive answer but it seems that the Northern Nations monumental art insofar as it is a purposeful celebration of real and mythical lineage provides a good parallel with heraldry. I'm not so sure as you move further south that the comparison holds up. However, individuals and ceremonies are represented in carvings as far south as the Columbia River, so an heraldic parallel may be valid there as well.

I don't know what you mean by regulated.

Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form. BillHolm, 1965, the Burke Museum.

Handbook of North American Indians, Sturtevant Ed. Volume 7, Northwest Coast. Art, by Bill Holm 1990

Looking at Art in the Northwest Coast. Hillary Stewart, 1979

Peoples of the Northwest Coast: Their Archaeology and Prehistory. K. Ames and H. Maschner 1999

edit: added words, formatting.