With the exception of the ‘fly and flop’ crowd, I think it safe to say that most people travel with a theme in mind, even if it’s broad or vague. We travel to discover cities with their theatres and museums, to hike through unfamiliar landscapes, to discover movie settings, to sail, ski, play golf and so on. The themes are countless. But here’s a theme you may not have thought of … discovering the unique culture displayed in totem poles. No … don’t stop reading! Think of spectacular islands, sparkling seascapes, towering forests, quaint and isolated coastal communities … and all right here in Canada, on British Columbia’s beautiful Vancouver Island.

Indigenous people made their homes on the Pacific Northwest coast for thousands of years, where they lived within complex social structures of chiefs, nobles, commoners and slaves. As hunters, fishers and gatherers, they lived on what the natural world provided: mammals and fowl, fish, molluscs, and vegetation. Animal furs, bones, grasses, shells and stones provided the materials necessary for their daily lives, but of all the natural materials available to them, none was as important as the wood from the massive deciduous and coniferous trees of the region. With this wood, they fashioned sturdy homes, tools and canoes. And, they created a unique art form: yes, the totem pole.

Indigenous peoples appreciated and celebrated the inter-connectedness of living things. They were practical, but they also held strong beliefs in the spirit world, paying respectful tribute to all that they received from nature and letting their imaginations soar with mythic creatures and powerful spirits. They ‘wrote’ their histories, stories and beliefs by carving totem poles.

Enter the early explorers and traders, followed by adventurers and artifact hunters who plundered the totem poles for museums and collectors around the world. In addition, potlatches were banned by the Canadian government in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and the art of carving totem poles was at risk of becoming lost. But in 1966, a celebration was required to mark the centennial of the joining of Vancouver Island and the mainland to form the colony of British Columbia. An innovative committee came up with the idea of involving the province’s First Nations people in a pole carving project; thus was Vancouver Island’s “Route of the Totems” born.

Most first-time travellers to Vancouver Island include a visit to the city of Victoria, British Columbia’s capital city, in their itineraries. Arrive by ferry from Tsawwassen on BC’s mainland and you will be greeted by a totem pole. At the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal stands the totem pole that won first prize on the Route: a Grizzly Bear and Whale pole created by Henry Hunt, one of the most skilled pole carvers of modern times.

Proceed into the city itself and there are many more poles to be discovered. Visitors to the Royal British Columbia Museum are greeting in the courtyard by an impressive pole by Richard Hunt, a son of Henry’s, a pole celebrating his family’s proud history with crests, masks, chiefs and supernatural creatures. And adjacent to the museum is popular Thunderbird Park, created specifically to exhibit a fine collection of totem poles and to show its many visitors how the poles are created and erected.

What is a capital city without an impressive Parliament Building? Victoria is no exception, and on its grounds, overlooking Victoria’s bustling inner harbour stands another renowned totem pole. Called the “Knowledge Totem,” this pole was created by master carver, Cicero August of the Cowichan Tribe and his sons, Darrell and Doug. The pole was erected on the occasion of the closing of the 14th Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand, as Victoria took over its role as host of the 15th Games held in 1994. The pole’s loon, fisherman, bone game player and frog represent lessons of the past and hope for the future.

Victoria isn’t the only location on Vancouver Island to discover fine totem poles. Far from it! Duncan, a small city about 65 km. north of Victoria, is known as the “City of Totem Poles,” so created in 1983 by Mayor Douglas Baker to lure visitors to his town. Twelve large cedar logs were donated by the local logging company; some skilled carvers from the region were commissioned; and soon the project began to take place. Today there are about 80 poles in the town and along the adjacent stretch of the Trans Canada Highway, with 41 of the poles included on a self-guided tour. This is the site of the pole with the world-record width – “Cedar Man”. Carved by Richard Hunt in 1988 from a tree estimated to be 775 years old, its diameter measures over 6 ft.

Proceeding northwards on the Trans Canada Highway the traveller passes such delightful settlements as Nanaimo, Qualicum Beach, Courtenay and Campbell River, all homes to fine totem poles. And then, in the north, comes Alert Bay, one of the few locations on the BC coast where totems remain undisturbed on their original site: the Namgis Burial Grounds, which are closed to the public but whose poles can easily be seen from the roadside. But it is not this cemetery that makes Alert Bay famous for totem pole lovers … it is the fact that this town boasts the world’s tallest totem pole, a two-part, fourteen-figure pole that soars to 173 feet. This pole was carved by six Kwakwaka’wakw artists and celebrates the several tribes of the Kwakwaka’wakw nation that have been united by marriage.

Port Hardy, in the north of Vancouver Island, is another arrival or departure point for the island. There, to greet or wish bon voyage, stands the first or last of the “Route of the Totems” pole, a Henry Hunt creation portraying Grizzly Bear clutching a salmon.

The more one learns about totem poles, the more fascinating they become. And seeing them in the spectacular natural surroundings of Vancouver Island is an incomparable experience. Travel the “Route of the Totems,” and meet Thunderbird and Killer Whale, Eagle and Raven and Owl, Wolf, Black and Grizzly Bear, the Spirits of the Forest and the Sea, two-headed serpents and mythical birds, even a boy with a missing finger that marks a childhood accident.

Today’s world-wide interest in totem poles has led to a renewed sense of pride and identity among the carvers and their families and tribes while the poles themselves, some with outstretched arms and wings to welcome visitors, provide the viewer with fascinating glimpses into a world full of natural and imagined wonders. Discovering the poles provides a fascinating and unique lesson on the culture of some of Canada’s indigenous peoples.

I am greatly indebted to Hilary Stewart and her wonderful book Looking at Totem Poles, which led to my interest in these artifacts, and taught me so much as I travelled through Vancouver Island.