Inside the Alaska Indian Arts center in Haines, Alaska, the smell of cedar hangs heavy in the air. Clunks1, whacks2,and scraping noises punctuate the redolence3. Cedar chips litter the floor. Here, in the rain-forest environment of the Tongass National Forest, where more than 140inches of precipitation fall each year, choice red cedar trees grow. They make the best totem4 poles.