Totem poles aren’t from Vancouver, so why are they everywhere?

Sḵwx̱wú7mesh artist James Harry says its time people recognize totem poles aren't native to Vancouver and focus on supporting Coast Salish art from the territory.

For many tourists and Canadians, when you think of Vancouver images of a city flanked by mountains, ocean and lush green forests come to mind … and so do totem poles.

The nine totem poles in Stanley Park are heralded by the city as “BC’s most visited tourist attraction” and the shops in Gastown’s tourist district are filled with made in China totem pole tchotchkes.

But totem poles aren’t native to Vancouver. They’re actually rooted in Haida, Nuxalk, Kwakwaka’wakw, Tsimshian and Łingít cultures further north and west — not Coast Salish.

It’s an misconception James Xwalacktun Harry is passionate about correcting.

“I really don’t like to see more work that isn’t from this territory going up on our land because it just says to me that our city, our society isn’t really listening to our voices,” said Harry, a member of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, with a Kwakwaka’wakw grandmother.

The fire was lit under him to advocate for better representation of Coast Salish art because of the way it was being recognized, or wasn’t.

An artist and carver, Harry began honing his craft when he was five years old. He spent his formative years in the studio watching his father, master carver Xwalacktun, make masks and house posts and took up the craft after him.

“I’ve been asked to carve totem poles before and I can because of my grandmother but a lot of what I’ve been doing from my dad’s teachings is to really pull back and think about the territory that we’re on,” said Harry.