Although totem poles have long been associated with the City of Seattle through its branding as “The Gateway to Alaska” [1], freestanding, multifigured monumental totem poles are not an Indigenous artform in Puget Sound. The origin of 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 pilfered the pole brought it back to Seattle and presented it to the city to be raised in Pioneer Square, in the heart of downtown [2]. An iteration of this pole still stands in Pioneer Square, where it has come to be known as the “Seattle Totem.”

Ever since the “Seattle Totem” was first raised, it has been an object of fascination and intrigue for tourists visiting the city. Early curio stores, such as the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, were quick to hire regional Indigenous artists from Coast Salish and Nuu-chah-nulth communities to reproduce the Seattle Totem for visiting tourists. This pole is an earlier example of this and strongly reflects the carver’s attempt to reconcile their Nuu-chah-nulth style of carving with Tlingit subject matter. Although this pole is clearly meant to be the Seattle Totem, the individual figures have been reinterpreted to align more with Nuu-chah-nulth design sensibility. The pole appears to feature, from top: Owl, Human, Whale, Raven or Heron, and a Humanoid Face. The pole is mounted on a chamfered cedar base.

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 23 September 2025.

2. Ibid.

Christopher W. Smith