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cruise ship berths and maritime harbors. As if to
provide a ‘front porch’ to the City’s four historic
districts and preserve their stories, the Boardwalk
offers local artwork, benches to rest and socialize,
easy connections to retail stores, attractions and
museums, and safe comfortable recreation for
people of all ages and mobility.
Ketchikan provides a variety of accommodations
ranging from the youth hostel to bed and breakfasts,
hotels and motels, many featuring restaurants and
lounges on premises, fishing lodges, and world-
class resorts. Conveniently located in the heart of
downtown, The Inn at Creek Street offers several
suites, three of which are in the oldest and most
notorious houses of ill repute. Check in is at the
Bayside Hotel, where the concierge will escort
guests to their rooms, suites or lofts.
Experience world-class exhibits and award-
winning audiovisual programs at Southeast Alaska
Discovery Center, where you can view Tsimshian,
Haida and Tlingit totem poles, stroll through the
rainforest room, discover a Native fish camp scene, Creek Street, Ketchikan
photo by:
learn about Southeast Alaska’s ecosystems, and Mary Stephenson
listen to people who work in the timber, fishing,
mining and tourism industries. The Center houses
seven exhibit rooms and a trip planning room, greeted by a large circle of six beautifully carved Stars, Raven Stealing the Sun, Eagle Dancer, Giant
located one block from the cruise ship dock in modern totem poles. The “Council of the Clans” Clam, Brown Bear, and the ceremonial mediator
downtown Ketchikan at 50 Main Street. Open Totem Circle poles were carved, painted and inlaid figure Naa Kaani. Located on Deermount Street
daily from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM May to September. by Eagle Clan member Lee Wallace, a Tlingit, near City Park, the Totem Heritage Center also
Tongass Historical Museum offers changing Haida and Tsimshian Native Alaskan. Subject conserves some of the totem poles rescued from
exhibits of local history and culture. “The First matter includes Raven Stealing the Moon and old villages.
People” is a permanent exhibit on Tlingit, Haida
and Tsimshian culture. Over one hundred objects,
from pre-contact stone tools to art objects created
by contemporary Native artists are displayed in this
comprehensive exhibit of Southeast Alaska Native
artifacts. Located in the Centennial Building at 629
Dock Street; (907) 225-5900.
The Metlakatla Reservation on nearby Annette
Island is home to descendants of Tsimshian natives
who immigrated to the Island by canoe in the late
1800s from British Columbia. Poised on the shores
of the Tongass Narrows at the site of a fish camp
established by the Tlingit, Ketchikan is home to
a greater concentration of Native Alaskans than
anywhere else in the state. The world’s largest
collection of totem poles can be viewed at several
major locations.
In 1938, the US Forest Service began salvaging
overgrown and weather-damaged cedar totem poles
that were left behind when southeast Alaska Native
peoples abandoned villages in the early 1900s, in
response to the growth of non-Native settlements
and the decline of a barter economy. When skilled
carvers were hired from among the older Natives,
young artisans learned the art of carving totem
poles, and totems found rotting in the woods were
repaired or duplicated. The model clan house at
Totem Bight State Historical Park and new totem
poles were constructed in traditional fashion using
pre-European contact tools. Samples of paint were
created from clam shells, lichen, graphite, copper
pebbles, and salmon eggs, then the colors were
duplicated with modern paints. The Totem Bight
site, located 9.5 miles north of Ketchikan, was
added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1970.
In nearby Saxman Native Village, located about
two miles south of Ketchikan and home to about two
dozen totem poles, Cape Fox Tours offers visitors
the opportunity to watch traditional master carvers
such as National Heritage Fellowship recipient
Nathan Jackson at work, and view performances
by Tlingit dancers dressed in full regalia.
Visitors to Cape Fox Lodge on Venetia Way are

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