Things to do nearSaxman Totem Park

Saxman Totem Park was established in the late 1930s when the Civilian Conservation Corps partnered with the local Tlingit and Haida communities to retrieve deteriorating poles from abandoned village sites across the region. The rescued poles were restored and erected here in the village of Saxman, preserving carvings that might otherwise have been lost. The park now holds more than two dozen poles, making it one of the largest outdoor collections of standing totems anywhere in the world.

Walking the grounds, you encounter a remarkable range of subjects: watchmen figures perched at the tops of poles, the Raven and Eagle moiety crests, and narrative scenes drawn from oral histories passed down across centuries. The Beaver Clan House anchors the site and serves as a working space where master carvers continue to practice and teach traditional techniques. Guided tours offer the clearest window into what each figure means, moving well beyond surface aesthetics into the social and spiritual roles these objects hold in Tlingit life.

The surrounding area rewards further exploration. The Totem Heritage Center preserves unrestored 19th-century poles in a climate-controlled museum setting, providing a compelling contrast to the outdoor park. Visitors interested in the broader character of the region often continue into Ketchikan to walk Creek Street in Ketchikan, a boardwalk district built over a salmon stream with a layered history of its own.

Saxman Totem Park earns its place as a first stop in Southeast Alaska for anyone who wants to understand the depth and continuity of Indigenous art traditions still very much alive today.