Secretary of State Pole

The Seward Pole or ""secretary of state pole"" is a ridicule or shame pole. It commemorates how U.S. Secretary of State William Seward failed to honor his hosts when he visited in 1869. The figure on the pole has its ears and nose painted red to indicate his stinginess. Totem pol...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: A. de Menil
Format: Still Image
Language:unknown
Published: 1966
Subjects:
Online Access:https://digital.lib.sfu.ca/billreid-3627/secretary-state-pole
Description
Summary:The Seward Pole or ""secretary of state pole"" is a ridicule or shame pole. It commemorates how U.S. Secretary of State William Seward failed to honor his hosts when he visited in 1869. The figure on the pole has its ears and nose painted red to indicate his stinginess. Totem poles at Saxman Totem Park near Ketchikan, Alaska. The totems at Saxman were either salvaged or replicated from older poles that had decayed or become overgrown at their original locations in Alaskan Native villages.