Totem Heritage Center
Nineteenth-century Tlingit and Haida poles recovered from village sites stand close enough for careful reading, while contemporary Northwest Coast art and classes explain continuity.
Artwork inspired by Nathan Jackson
Historic poles are preserved beside the living carving and weaving traditions they support. Nineteenth-century Tlingit and Haida poles recovered from village sites stand close enough for careful reading, while contemporary Northwest Coast art and classes explain continuity. Conservation choices are visible rather than hidden.
Take the first pass for pole structure and crest relationships, then return to one weathered surface to consider preservation without imagining the pole was made for a museum. A guided lower-level tour adds access but requires its own booking; winter hours are much shorter than the cruise season. Give ancestral poles and Ravenstail weaving equal attention: together they explain far more than a quick viewpoint or checklist can.
- Opened
- 1976
- Collection
- 19th-century poles
- Operator
- Ketchikan Museums
Quick guide
- Start with
- Take the first pass for pole structure and crest relationships, then return to one weathered surface to consider preservation without imagining the pole was made for a museum.
- Look closely at
- Trace how ancestral poles directs attention toward Ravenstail weaving instead of studying either in isolation.
Know before you go
- Start with
- Take the first pass for pole structure and crest relationships, then return to one weathered surface to consider preservation without imagining the pole was made for a museum.
- Look closely at
- Trace how ancestral poles directs attention toward Ravenstail weaving instead of studying either in isolation.
- Connect the story
- Nineteenth-century Tlingit and Haida poles recovered from village sites invite close reading, while contemporary Northwest Coast art and classes explain continuity. Conservation choices remain visible.
- Plan around
- Allow 1½–3 hours. A guided lower-level tour adds access but requires its own booking; winter hours are much shorter than the cruise season.
Good to know
A guided lower-level tour adds access but requires its own booking; winter hours are much shorter than the cruise season.
Notice these
- ancestral poles
- Ravenstail weaving
- conservation workshop