Speaker's Staff Item Number: 3571/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Tall wooden talking stick, unpainted. The top has a long somewhat pointed tip, below which is a carved shark(?) face, with oval abalone inlays in the eyes, and 12 triangular inlays arranged in a row in the mouth, for teeth. Below the face wing-like(?) features are carved into the surface; below is a row of curved horizontal lines, then 11 circumference lines, creating 10 round segments. The piece ends in a wedge-shaped tail with carved elements on both sides. On the back is a small rectangular metal plaque with the dedication. Near the bottom are the intials D.R. in black marker.
The talking stick was a gift from then UBC President, David Strangway, to the former UBC Chancellor Nathan Nemetz (1913-1997), on his 80th birthday, in 1993. Nemetz served as Chancellor of UBC from 1972 to 1975.