TOURS NATIVE CULTURE - Ketchikan Visitors Bureau

Native Culture
The heritage of northwest Coast tribes in Ketchikan is integral to our
lifestyle. Twenty percent of residents can trace their heritage to the
Tlingit, haida and Tsimshian tribes of Alaska. The world’s largest
collection of totem poles is found here, and you’ll meet the artists
and teachers whose work keeps the culture vital.
• Saxman Native Village and Totem Bight State Park
display poles and clan houses. The two totem parks also feature scheduled
performances of traditional Native dancers.
• Totem heritage Center is a federal historic site housing ancient poles retrieved
from abandoned villages. The center has instructed students in traditional
Northwest Coast design and Native art since the 1970s.
• Artisans at Saxman’s carving center work on contemporary totem poles and
invite you to get close.
• Southeast Alaska Discovery Center features a replica of a summer fish camp and
a display depicting traditional Alaska Native life.
• Tongass historical Museum displays
ancient tools and implements.
Ketchikan is unique for its historical and contemporary Northwest Coast arts. Totem parks display nearly a century
of carving. Poles from old villages are preserved at Totem Heritage Center. See Alaska Native dancers in ceremonial
regalia; check our online events schedule or ask around. Carvers demonstrate for visitors on several tours. The new pole
at top is by Donny Varnell and stands with two other carvers’ poles at Ketchikan Indian Community Tribal Health clinic.
Ask an Alaskan. Call 1-800-770-3300. Begin your adventure at www.visit-ketchikan.com
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