From KNKX Public Radio:
Seattle Parks plans to reinstall a pair of totem poles in Victor Steinbrueck Park at the north end of Pike Place Market this spring. Their return was in limbo for a few years due to questions about whether they accurately represent Coast Salish peoples of the region.
The late Quinault-Isleta Pueblo artist Marvin Oliver created the 50-foot poles. One is titled “Farmer’s Pole” and features a man and a woman at the top. The other is called “Untitled” and includes symbols of a whale, a bear and a raven holding a Salish spinning whorl used for weaving. It’s modeled after designs from the Haida Nation, whose traditional territory spans parts of southern Alaska and Haida Gwaii, an archipelago off the coast of British Columbia, Canada.
Victor Steinbrueck helped design the park in the 1980s and commissioned Marvin Oliver to create the totem poles. Since then, their wood has cracked and the paint has faded.
Seattle Parks removed the poles in 2023 to refurbish them and make improvements to the park, including to a playground and seating areas.
Marilyn Oliver-Bard, Marvin Oliver’s sister, has been advocating for parks to return the artwork to its original location. She said her brother would be very pleased that’s on track.
