We arrived in town on a cruise at 7:30 am and walked through town to the Totem Heritage Center, an interesting little museum. It took about 30 minutes to walk it. They are related to the fish hatchery, and we got tickets to both at a discount from this place. I think it was $12 for both.

The totem poles here were collected from vacant villages and are the real deal. This place preserves them and has about sixteen on display at a time. Three to five are standing and the rest are laying down in big displays where you can really see them. There is a guide who tells you about the poles, their construction and meanings. Also on display are contemporary but very traditional masks, native art that was quite beautiful and interesting old photographs.

We spent about 45 minutes here which was enough to read all the info on each item. Then we went to the fish hatchery which is located on the same parklike property.

After a 30 minute tour of the hatchery, the girl at the front desk was kind enough to call us a cab on her cell phone. A bit further in this direction is the totem park, and any cab will happily offer you a tour for about $75 an hour.

Like everywhere else in Ketchikan, the people were very nice.

We visited the Totem Heritage Center as part of an Alaskan Cruise. These are the real thing. Made by the local tribes as part of their culture. There is a guide who explains the basics of the meaning, use, etc of totem poles. Wish we could have spent a little longer there.