Three First Nations in British Columbia gathered today to raise a restored replica totem pole at a Canada-U.S. border crossing — a decade after it was removed by the province without notice.
B.C. Premier John Horgan listens as a large First Nations carving of a mask is displayed during a ceremony before the raising of a replica Haida totem pole on the traditional territory of the Semiahmoo First Nation, at the Douglas-Peace Arch border crossing, in Surrey, B.C., on Friday September 21, 2018. The original pole was raised at the border crossing in the 1950s and removed without consultation or notice during the reconstruction of a visitor centre in 2008. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The Semiahmoo, Kwakwaka'wakw and Haida nations say the pole symbolizing the grizzly bear was raised near the Peace Arch crossing in the 1950s but taken down without consultation in 2008 to make way for a new tourism centre.
Members of the three nations held a ceremony at Peace Arch Provincial Park and say the removal of the pole was undignified and ignored their traditions.
They recognized deceased carver Mungo Martin for creating the pole, which was commissioned by the Royal British Columbia Museum and based on a pole in the Haida Gwaii community of Skidegate.
Premier John Horgan attended the ceremony and apologized on behalf of the province for a "historic wrong."
He says raising the pole close to its original location is a sign of reconciliation and he will make a formal statement when the legislature reconvenes in the fall.
