2. Totem Pole Galleries

Saxman Village - Ketchikan, AK

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Bentwood Box
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Bentwood Box

John Hughes, an apprentice of Nathan Jackson, puts the finishing touches on a bentwood box at the Saxman Village carving shed.

AlaskaKetchikan TotemsSaxman Village Ketchikan TotemsTotems

  • Longhouse at entrance to Saxman Village.
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  • This pole serves two purposes. First, it is a genealogical record of four house groups and serves as a memorial to them. An eagle at the top of the pole symbolizes the Eagle Claw House. This is followed by two beavers representing the Beaver Dam House and the Beaver Tail House. The bottom beaver can be identified by the cross hatched black tail. The face at the bottom of the pole symbolizes the fourth group, the Giant Rock Oyster House.<br /> <br /> The second purpose of this pole is to tell a story - a sad story. Tricia Brown, in her guidebook of Totem Bight, refers to totem poles as "Silent Storytellers." The story behind this pole is how the Giant Rock Oyster house got its name. While searching for devilfish, the figure crouching beside the pole put his hand in a crevice and a giant devilfish grabbed it When his companions were unable to extricate him they went for help. But when they returned and tried once again to free him, the tide had come in and drowned him.
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  • Entrance to Saxman Village
  • Abraham Lincoln Pole
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  • Nathan Jackson, internationally known Tsimshian Master Carver, relaxes while working on a pole in the carving shed at Saxman Village near Ketchikan, AK
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  • Sun and Raven pole, Saxman Village
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  • Soaring Eagle Pole
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  • 0706013-191
  • Bentwood Box
  • Seward Pole
  • 0807002-052
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