Totem Pole

Item number Nb3.1330 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

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Data
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This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Description

Free-standing pole. From bottom: Raven, Dzunuk'wa, Bak'was, a man holding a frog, a Sea-bear holding a killer whale, and at the top, Thunderbird with a whale on its chest. The bird wings are detachable, held by metal backings on each side. The entire pole is painted.

Iconographic Meaning

Thunderbird with a whale on its chest is the Neel family crest.

Narrative

The pole was carved by Ellen Neel in the summer of 1955 at her Ferguson Point studio, in Stanley Park, assisted by her sons Robert and David Neel. The pole was a commission from Woodward Department Stores Ltd. In the same year, the pole was taken to Edmonton, Alberta, where it was erected at the Woodward's Westmount Mall store. In 1984 Woodward's donated the pole to the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, where it was then restored by Robert Neel. In Sept 1985 the pole was installed at Brockton Oval in Stanley Park, where it stayed on long term loan to the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation for almost 40 years. However based on an assessment of the pole conducted by MOA's conservators in recent years, the Neel family decided that the pole should return to MOA where it can be preserved into the future. On Sept 4, 2024, in coordination with the Neel family, the pole was lowered and returned to MOA.