Nuu-chah-nulth Seattle Totem

This pole is a model of the “Seattle Totem” that stands in the Pioneer Square neighbourhood in downtown Seattle. This pole is carved in an early style of the Williams family of carvers and was probably made to be sold in a local Seattle curio shop. 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 Seattle Totem was the first documented totem pole to be raised in Puget Sound territory. 26"