TACOMA, Wash — A totem pole that is believed to be inauthentic was removed from a Tacoma park Tuesday morning.
The Tacoma totem pole has stood in Fireman’s Park for more than 100 years. Crews planned to remove the totem pole in sections Tuesday.
Tacoma Arts Administrator Amy McBride said the pole is not believed to have been carved by tribal members, although that was hard to authenticate. The pole did not come from any western Washington tribes.
The removal has been months in the making. In September 2020, the Tacoma Arts Commission created a panel to study taking it down. The commission voted in March 2021 to remove the pole, and since then it went through the landmarks and preservation history commissions where it was de-listed from historical records.
The commission is in talks with the Tacoma Historical Society about whether any pieces would be put on display as an artifact. McBride said if the pieces were displayed, disclaimers would be added to explain the pole’s fraught history.
“We don’t want to continue to perpetuate harm by having the totem pole in a public space,” McBride said.