Native art and cultural influences abound in Ketchikan, Three indigenous Pacific Northwest Indian tribes- the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian, lived, traveled and traded extensively throughout Northern British Columbia and Southeast Alaska.Ketchikan is home to the world’s largest collection of totem poles, which can be viewed at public facilities such as Saxman Native Village, Totem Bight State Park and the Totem Heritage Center. Totems can also be viewed at other public locations around town, and even in front of local residences.Totem Heritage Center is a Awesome Place For Vacations.Traditional Native dance performances are scheduled regularly at the Saxman Tribal House, and the Totem Bight clan house.Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, carvers and their apprentices can be viewed sculpting poles, canoes, paddles and masks in Saxman. Totem Bight and some local art galleries also host artists practicing their craft. The Totem Heritage Center hosts a variety of classes that teach traditional arts and craft methods.The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center houses examples of totem poles, native basketry and other crafts as well as a traditional Native fish camp exhibit.
History of Totem Heritage Center
The Totem Heritage Center was established in 1976 to preserve endangered 19th century totem poles retrieved from uninhabited Tlingit and Haida village sites near Ketchikan. Those magnificent, original poles are displayed at the Center in conjunction with other totems and Native Alaskan artifacts. In addition to functioning as a museum, the Totem Heritage Center also preserves and promotes the traditional arts and crafts of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures through a nationally-recognized program of Native Arts classes and other activities.
Inside the Totem Heritage Center
The Totem Heritage center is a small 3 room museum but is filled with fascinating information, exhibits, and photographs. Once inside, we were immediately impressed with five standing totem poles, each over 100 years old. Travel Guides in USA were given a Brochure and allowed to take in the view until everyone was inside & situated. Then a narrator gave a detailed explanations of the five totem poles – the totem poles history, type of totem pole, and totem pole meanings. The narration lasted for about 10 minutes and then we wandered through the 2 additional rooms at our own leisure.One of the two rooms is full of recovered Totem Poles each stacked in clear display boxes. The Totem Poles are in various stages of decomposition and most are missing most of their coloring but the figures are still recognizable. At each box is a plaque describing the pole and its characters. Many of these poles were originally carved in the mid to late 19th century and were in danger of being lost forever due to decay, vandalism, & theft before being rescued and moved here.While the totem poles were interesting, what I found most impressive in this room was the fascinating photographs that lined the walls. They were taken before the Totem Poles were rescued and most are well over 150 years old.The other room has exhibits that change during the year. When we were there we saw a handful of colorful tribal masks, a dug-out canoe, hand made baskets, button vests, and more. There are also exhibit cases surrounding the five standing totem poles that show Native arts & crafts, tools, and artifacts.All in all, we spent between 30-45 minutes inside and it is easy to imagine it taking less time if you don’t take the time to read all of the plaques & photographs.
