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All 57 Ketchikan Attractions »

Totem Heritage Center

601 Deermount Street, Ketchikan, AK 99901
907-225-5900
Ranked #9 of 20 attractions in Ketchikan
4.0 of 5 stars 18 Reviews
Type: History Museums, Historic Sites
Activities: Arts and crafts
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18 reviews from our community

Visitor rating
    8
    6
    3
    0
    1
Date Rating
Summerfield, North Carolina
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 21, 2012 NEW

At first, looking at the old totems was boring. But when our guide started telling us about how a wealthy person would hold a totem to give away all their wealth and start over again as a poor person the totems seemed to come alive. More

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See 2 more reviews by rmposton for Ketchikan
Washington State
Senior Contributor
21 reviews 21 reviews
Reviews in 15 cities Reviews in 15 cities
53 helpful votes 53 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed March 7, 2012
7
people found this review helpful

We took a $7 taxi from the cruise ship up the hill to the Totem Center. The Totem Center is very interesting and the $5 admission was reasonable. The best part was walking back down along the river and seeing the millions of huge salmon spawning in the creek! As you walk down the street you will see a wooden... More

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Southeast Alaska
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed February 13, 2012
2
people found this review helpful

Wonderful place to see the older native totems and learn about local Native culture. More

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See 6 more reviews by Msdetail for Ketchikan
Toronto
Top Contributor
62 reviews 62 reviews
Reviews in 22 cities Reviews in 22 cities
115 helpful votes 115 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed October 26, 2011
5
people found this review helpful

I'd first like to mention how well done this center is. It's not huge, but it's a nice, modern building and they've designed it to really enhance the totems and displays. We started off with a short introduction by the tour guide. He explained a few things to us and he presented it very well. Following that, we had free... More

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See 2 more reviews by succeed_2 for Ketchikan
San Jose, California
Contributor
19 reviews 19 reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
17 helpful votes 17 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed October 16, 2011
3
people found this review helpful

We hadn't really intended to stop here but our hike led us up the hill to the hatchery and we bought the combo ticket! I am glad we did. While we had admired the beauty of the totem poles on our trip we didn't really understand their significance or history. This small museum is a great ambassador. We discouvered totem... More

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See 2 more reviews by CruisingQueen50 for Ketchikan
US
Top Contributor
72 reviews 72 reviews
Reviews in 53 cities Reviews in 53 cities
68 helpful votes 68 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed September 26, 2011
3
people found this review helpful

It's not the largest museum in the world, but it's huge considering the subject matter. It must be terribly difficult to preserve wooden poles that were left outside for decades. The museum has done an excellent job of portraying the historical significance and geographical spread of totems in the region, as well as preserving those they could obtain. Some have... More

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See 2 more reviews by rileigh15 for Ketchikan
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
5 of 5 stars Reviewed September 3, 2011

If the salmon are spewing, this is a good destination after following the Creek St boardwalk and then trail upstream. The museum is small but well-done. More

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Illinois
Senior Reviewer
6 reviews 6 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
1 of 5 stars Reviewed August 29, 2011
2
people found this review helpful

We had some time to utilize before a kayaking tour and we took the free shuttle bus here. After being encouraged to buy the combo ticket for the fish hatchery tour too, we entered the building to find 5 (!) original totem poles which are beautifully displayed and preserved. They are carved, not painted at all like Alaskan totem poles... More

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Connecticut
Top Contributor
113 reviews 113 reviews
Reviews in 34 cities Reviews in 34 cities
22 helpful votes 22 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed August 5, 2011
1
person found this review helpful

My wife and I had the day in Ketchikan, as one of our cruise ship pit stops. We didn't know what to expect, but besides shopping or going off on an excursion, there are not a lot of choices in the town. It was a beautiful day so we walked to the Totem Heritage Center (as well as the Fish... More

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See 2 more reviews by W-Hartford_CT for Ketchikan
Vancouver, BC
Top Contributor
123 reviews 123 reviews
Reviews in 48 cities Reviews in 48 cities
564 helpful votes 564 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed January 15, 2011
2
people found this review helpful

We visited the Totem Heritage Center as one of the stops on the Ketchikan City Walk. We were fortunate enough to have a beautiful sunny day in Ketchikan and thoroughly enjoyed taking a leisurely stroll through the city, stopping at various sights along the way. The Totem Heritage Center is a small museum featuring a historic collection of preserved totem... More

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