Ketchikan Museums & Cultural Centers
Immerse yourself in Ketchikan’s rich culture and history at the city’s museums and cultural centers. Step into a world of fascinating exhibits, artifacts, and interactive displays that showcase the region’s indigenous history, maritime traditions, and artistic expressions. From the Totem Heritage Center, where centuries-old totem poles tell captivating stories, to the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, which offers an in-depth look at the area’s natural wonders, Ketchikan’s museums provide a deep dive into the heart of the town’s identity.
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Museums, Cultural Centers
As part of the New Deal during the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps came to this area and hired skilled Native artists who could recreate old crumbling poles and train apprentices, to keep the art form alive. You can wander the grounds at this state park, and learn about how to interpret the symbols on poles, or check out the large, carved tribal house. Was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. 10 miles out of town on ...more
The art of totem pole carving was a luxury that experienced its heyday in the mid-1700s to the late 1800s. The fur trade had provided the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples a newfound sense of wealth – and time to focus on the artistry of the totem
Experience world-class exhibits and audiovisual programs. Discover Tsimshian, Haida and Tlingit totem poles, the rainforest room, a Native fish camp scene, and exhibits on Southeast Alaska’s ecosystems, fishing, mining, timber and tourism. Located one block from the cruise ship dock in downtown Ketchikan. Accepts America-the-Beautiful passes.
Built on the old fishing grounds of Tlingit Natives, the park hosts some of the finest native art in the world!