Nuu-chah-Nulth Seattle Totem

Nuu-chah-Nulth model of the Seattle totem pole. Circa 1960. 12" Although totem poles have long been associated with Seattle, the familiar Northern Northwest Coast form of monumental, freestanding, multifigured totem poles were not historically an Indigenous artform in Puget Sound. This association can largely be traced back to the theft of a monumental Tlingit pole by a group of Seattle businessmen on a steamship trip to Southeastern Alaska in 1899. The men who stole the totem returned to Seattle and presented it to the city to be raised in Pioneer Square, near the waterfront. [1] There have been several iterations of this pole over the last 125 years, which remains a major local landmark and has come to be known as “The Seattle Totem.” This model pole was created by a local Nuu-chah-nulth artist for one of the Seattle-based curio shops sometime around 1960. It represents the Seattle Totem and reflects the artist’s negotiation between their Nuu-chah-nulth style and the Tlingit imagery of the original monumental totem. This model pole is mounted on a round disc of alder. Please note that the beaks are missing on the top bird and the bottom figure. 1. Robin K. Wright. How Did Totem Poles Become a Symbol of Seattle? 19 November 2015. https://www.burkemuseum.org/news/how-did-totem-poles-become-symbol-seattle. Accessed 26 November 2025.