Our first stop was the Totem Heritage Center. Around the turn of the 20th century, many native villages near Ketchikan were abandoned. Villagers moved to nearby towns to be closer to work, medical care and schools for their children. With new homes and more modern life, memory of the traditional Native art forms faded, and some cases it vanished completely.
Totem poles left in these abandoned villages deteriorated rapidly. The heavy rains of the area, as much as 180 inches, took a toll on exposed poles. This fine art form fell victim to decay, souvenir hunters and vandals.
In the 60s, because of a growing concern to preserve this vanishing art, a field survey was conducted by the Alaska State Museum, the Smithsonian Institution and Native elders. Abandoned Haida and Tlingit villages between Kake and the Canadian border were searched by plane and on foot, locating many fine totem poles.
In the 70s a salvage operation called "Alaska Totems: A Heritage in Peril" was cosponsored by the Alaska Native Brotherhood, the State of Alaska and the U.S. Forest Service. Poles were salvaged from the Haida village of Old Kasaan and the Tlingit villages of Cat Passage and Village Island. These poles were carefully brought back to Ketchikan and now stand in the Totem Heritage Center. This was supported by the local Indian community and seen as a way to preserve a bit of their heritage.
Outside the Center a new pole was erected a year ago called, "Honoring Those Who Give." This pole incorporates figures and symbols that represent the unfolding of a story -- the story of the founding of the Totem Heritage Center. The pole was carved by Nathan Jackson, born into the Lukaax.adi (Sockeye clan) on the Raven side of the Chilkoot-Tlingit tribe. He has been carving for 40 years in the Tlingit tradition. His work can be found in museums, private collections and public places around the world. He has been a student of the old carvers and is a teacher to the young Indian carvers. Nathan Jackson has taken Northwest Coast carving traditions from the past and carried them toward the future.
