Thunderbird Totem Pole - Thunderbird Park, Victoria, British Columbia
by Peggy Collins
Title
Thunderbird Totem Pole - Thunderbird Park, Victoria, British Columbia
Artist
Peggy Collins
Medium
Photograph - Photography - Digital Art
Description
The top of the thunderbird totem pole at Thunderbird Park in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Called the Kwakwaka’wakw Heraldic Pole, it was carved in cedar by Chief Mungo Martin and assistants in 1953. Chief Martin was from the Kwakiutl tribe, who are Native Americans from the Northwest Coast. Heraldic poles such as this are placed in front of houses in order to portray the significance of the family.
Totem poles were first erected in Victoria's Thunderbird Park in 1940 as part of a conservation effort to preserve some of the region's rapidly deteriorating Aboriginal art.
The site was opened as Thunderbird Park in 1941 but by 1951, many of the poles were badly decayed. In 1952 the Royal BC Museum began a restoration program with Chief Mungo Martin as its head carver.
The thunderbird totem pole pictured here was created specifically for Thunderbird Park by Chief Martin and is an original, non-replica pole.
Uploaded
June 21st, 2017
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