Alaska Native Nathan Jackson is the world’s most accomplished totem-pole carver. But that wasn’t always his intent. He had finished his military service and was working as a commercial fisherman when a serious bout of pneumonia landed him in the hospital for 55 days. He found himself growing restless there, so he fashioned a carving knife and began creating miniature poles. Jackson realized he had a talent for the work, eventually attending the esteemed Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to hone his craft.
Photography by Troy A. Davidson
A rare recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship Award, the 78-year-old master carver has created more than 50 totem poles that stand tall across the world. Today, Jackson works out of the Edwin DeWitt Carving Center (colloquially known as the carving shed) situated in Saxman, a few miles from the southeast Alaskan town of Ketchikan. The village is also home to the world’s largest collection of standing totem poles, among them many of Jackson’s creations.
He continues the traditions of the Chilkoot Tlingit tribe, often employing time-honored tools but occasionally using their modern counterparts when the job calls for it. Poles are typically made from a single Western red cedar log and require months on end to take from conception to completion. They feature symbolic animal, human and supernatural forms and are painted using natural pigments. Each tells a tale, often falling into one of three categories: commemorative, mortuary or ridicule.
And this craft has become a family affair, it seems: Jackson’s son, Stephen, has long been considered a carving prodigy. Along with a handful of others, the two work side by side in the carving shed restoring existing poles and creating new ones, many of which are commissioned. The artists teach and learn from one another in the endless pursuit of excellence and in a concerted effort to ensure the enduring legacy of this important tribal tradition.
