Coast Salish Model Totem

Coast Salish (Suquamish or Duwamish) model of Seattle totem pole. This model pole is a Coast Salish copy of the iconic Tlingit Seattle Totem that stands in the Pioneer Square neighborhood in downtown Seattle. The carving appears to be by a local Coast Salish artist, perhaps Suquamish or Duwamish, and would have been made fairly soon after the Seattle Totem was raised in 1899. While there are a number of later Nuu-chah-nulth copies of the Seattle Totem made for local curio shops, but early Salish iterations of the pole are relatively rare. Excellent original colors and patina. The original, full-sized pole was Tlingit in origin and belonged to the Tongass people, near the US-Canadian border in Southeastern Alaska. It was stolen by a group of vacationing Seattle businessman in 1899 and “gifted” to the city of Seattle, which installed it in Pioneer Square. The original pole gifted to the city was damaged by arson in 1938 and replaced in 1940 by Tlingit carvers working for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Fun fact: Although totem poles have become a symbol of the City of Seattle, the Indigenous Salish people of Puget Sound did not historically carve multi-figure, free standing monumental poles. The Great paint. 26"H