The contested poles are planned decoration for a crafts market. The City Council will mull its regulatory authority over them at a May 16 meeting.
Several dozen people gathered in the rain last week across the street from a coned-off Ketchikan property. They held signs saying “No Fake Totem Poles ” and “Protect Indigenous Artists.” They faced a small construction vehicle sitting atop a pile of rubble spilling onto two carved, wooden poles.
, owner Joseph Machini said that he bought the poles from a non-Native Minnesota man named Carl Muggli in 2008.with one of the 700-pound poles they crafted as part of their business. He eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree unintentional murder in that case. “Because really, as I always say, somebody from Iowa getting off one of these cruise ships is not going to know the difference,” Skan said. “But we know.”
“The owner may not be selling these poles, but he is selling an idea to those unsuspecting visitors, and our locals, that get off the ships,” Gage said. “They will think these are real, Native art.”City Manager Delilah Walsh has been looking into what potential regulation might look like to share with the Council. In a phone interview, she said the city works closely with Native organizations to promote authentic Alaska Native art.
When it comes to the Indian Arts and Crafts Act though, Walsh said the law is really only aimed at fake items that are displayed for sale, whereas the Minnesotan poles are simply decorative.
Carl Muggli Ketchikan Totem Heritage Center Totem Poles
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