A towering symbol of coastal Indigenous culture came crashing to the ground this week. Once recorded as the tallest totem in the world, on Wednesday the ‘Namgis First Nation made the difficult decision to fell the wooden structure. The totem stood for decades on Cormorant Island south of the Vancouver Island town of Port McNeill. In a statement on its website, the nation said the pole had to be removed “due to serious concerns regarding its structural stability.” CTV News has reached out for an interview with the ‘Namgis nation, but so far has not been able to connect. The lore of the coastal B.C. totem casts a significantly large shadow as it was once the tallest on planet Earth. That title, according to numerous sources, has bounced from a pole standing in Victoria’s Beacon Hill Park, to the ‘Namgis pole, and back to Victoria. According to the group Friends of Beacon Hill Park, the Victoria pole overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca was the tallest until 1973 when it was surpassed by the ‘Namgis structure. This week, a ‘Namgis representative told CTV News that in the early 1990s some damage to the pole and the need for cables to support it relinquished the title back to the Beacon Hill pole. The ‘Namigs First Nation says it is working to connect with family of the pole’s original artist before it commemorates the significant cultural symbol.
