Jackson is one of the most widely known Tlingit artists working today. He has works in major museums around the United States, Europe and Japan. His totem poles stand in areas of prominence all over Southeast Alaska, including Centennial Hall and the Sealaska Building in downtown Juneau.

As a young man, Jackson worked as a commercial fisherman and served his military service in Germany. While convalescing from a bout of pneumonia which kept him from fishing, he discovered his talent for carving. He would go on to study at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 1995 he was the recipient of the National Endowment of the Arts National Heritage fellowship. He continues to teach traditional carving to younger generations, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in humanities from the University of Alaska Southeast. While he is best known for his totem poles, he also works in jewelry, canoes, masks and panels such as those pictured here.