Ketchikan - downtown

Totem Heritage Center

The museum  does a beautiful job of explaining everything to do with totem poles in Southeast Alaska. I was particularly interested in the history of their preservation. Totem poles are made by an individual or family & erected on their land; the stories told on the pole are intimately connected to that place, so the poles are supposed to stay there & eventually decompose & become part of the place. The Natives here had permanent winter homes where their poles were, but they would leave in the summer to fish & collect berries elsewhere. Also, some of the villages moved for various reason. These "abandoned" poles were being stolen & vandalized. A group of museums & conservation groups worked with local Natives to find & record each known pole. Then they all worked together to move & conserve many of them, as well as add some new totems. 

This type of basket weaving had essentially died out among the native tribes by the late 20th century. A white woman was taking care of 3 tribal elders in a nursing home. When she realized that they were basket weavers, she brought them the needed materials so that they could still weave. She learned from them, & now she has taught a new generation of tribal members to weave, so the tradition is being carried on. 

Salmon viewing on Ketchikan Creek

The salmon run here is the reason that Tlingit's came here in the summer & later Europeans & Americans began to settle here. There are many salmon in the first pic. It's amazing the tremendous effort they need just to get up one rapid. Some find their way up the fish ladder.

Creek Street

Creek Street was the famous red light district in Ketchikan, & was active until the mid-1950s.