Victor Steinbrueck was the man most responsible for preventing a redevelopment of Pike Place Market in the 1960s. He and his family are revered among those most interested in preserving certain pieces of Seattle history; his efforts have been repeatedly invoked in recent months as inspiration for the activists who seek to save the Showbox, which is located across the street from the market. In fact, the Seattle City Council’s effort to save the music venue from demolition has brought it temporarily into the Historical District that Victor Steinbrueck helped create.

But while the park is officially named for Steinbrueck, many know it simply as Native Park — and it does indeed have a reputation as a place where Native people spend time. Designed by the late Rich Haag, the park’s defining features are its sloping berms where visitors recline, the sweeping views of Puget Sound and the Olympics — and the two poles, made of cedar logs and jutting 50 feet into the air.

The park will undergo a substantial renovation in 2019. The membrane separating it from a parking garage below has become leaky and in need of repair. During that repair, the poles will come down. And therein lies the opportunity for those who oppose their presence — to simply not put them back. Echohawk and others say the Museum of History and Industry in South Lake Union has agreed to work with the city to take them.

Since the park is part of the historical district, removing the poles would require support from the Pike Place Market Historical Commission. Representatives from the commission declined to comment. But in an August email to Echohawk and other local Native artists and designers, an aide to Councilmember Juarez seemed to suspect the commission would not approve, writing, “It is likely that if we submit an application to remove the poles from the Park that the historical commission will deny the request.”

Repeated requests to speak with Councilmember Juarez over several weeks were not successful, but public remarks show that she has not ruled out going around the commission by removing Victor Steinbrueck Park from the Historical District entirely. During an August committee meeting, as the council began its discussions about expanding the Pike Place Market to include the Showbox, Juarez said, “My office is dealing with the Pike Place Historical District where we would like to see some property removed from the district,” a reference to the park.

Additionally, her aide wrote in the email, “Council action or action from the Director of the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) can override the historic commission.”

For Peter Steinbrueck, there’s no question that that would be a mistake. He sees the poles as a marker of friendship between communities. They were commissioned by his father, but designed by Marvin Oliver, a well-known and respected artist of the Quinalt tribe. “The park should not carry [Victor Steinbrueck’s] name if those poles are removed,” Steinbrueck said in an interview. “They’re place-making. They’re central to the park’s designed concept, designed to honor our Native history by Natives and non-Natives.”

There’s no disagreement that the poles are more representative of communities to the north. Oliver, who designed them, declined to comment for this story, but in March, he told the market’s historical commission, “Totem poles are associated not with here, but up north in Vancouver.”

For Steinbrueck, the transitory nature of cultures is part of the story. “What is the relationship that Seattle has to totem poles? It’s historical, it points to movements of people up and down the coast,” he said.

But artist Louie Gong of the Nooksack, a Coast Salish tribe, sees it differently. Gong’s storefront in Pike Place Market, Eighth Generation, is entirely Native owned and operated. It’s best known for its Native-designed wool blankets, but also sells everything from jewelry to iPhone cases.

For him, the prevalence of totem poles and art from the north has squeezed out artists interested in creating locally rooted art. “It’s been marginalized here in the Seattle area over the last 200 years because of the prevalence of Northwest coast style art, which is a cultural import,” he said. “Totem poles are not representative of the cultural art of Seattle. While they’re beautiful and we know that it was only good feeling that went into creating the poles at the park, as a Coast Salish artist I feel it’s a strong misrepresentation.”

Tourists, he said, have become trained to seek out — and buy — Northwest Coast style art, rather than work from the more local Coast Salish.