Speaker's Staff | Yakuntpek Item Number: 25.0/234 from the The Burke: University of Washington

Exhibit Label

The speaker's staff or talking stick is an emblem of chiefly office. While making speeches, the chief or his designated speaker gives emphasis to words by gesturing with the stick or pounding it against the floor. At the top are images of a copper (see the to the left) and a whale's upturned tail, both decorated with faces.