Map - 4, Foreword by David A. Boxley - 5, Chapter 1: An Introduction to Alaska's Totems - 6, The Totem Pole - 6, The Importance of Cedar - 11, Carving a Totem Pole - 16, Early Totem Sightings - 19, The Golden Age of Totem Poles - 22, Devastating Changes -

Through the mists of Alaska's rain forest, totem poles have stood watch for untold generations. Imbued with mystery to outsider eyes, the fierce, carved symbols silently spoke of territories, legends, memorials, and paid debts. Today many of these cultural icons are preserved for the public to enjoy in heritage parks and historical centers through southeast Alaska. And, after nearly a century of repression, totem carving among Alaska's Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian peoples is flourishing again.