Totem story pole Haida Heritage Centre Museum, Kaay Llnagaay, Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte City Islands, BC Canada.

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Totem poles are typically carved from the trunks of Thuja plicata trees (popularly called "giant cedar" or "western red cedar"), which decay eventually in the rainforest environment of the Northwest Coast. Thus, few examples of poles carved before 1900 exist. Noteworthy examples include those at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria and the Museum of Anthropology at UBC in Vancouver, dating as far back as 1880. While 18th-century accounts of European explorers along the coast indicate that poles existed prior to 1800, they were smaller and fewer in number than in subsequent decades.

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Size: 2989px × 4500px
Location: haida gwaii, british columbia
Photo credit: © Michael DeFreitas North America / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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