Aboriginal totem pole, Vancouver, British Columbia

Totem poles are monumental sculptures, carved from large trees, by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest coast of North America.

According to historian Eddie Malin, pole construction was centered around the Haida people of the Queen Charlotte Islands, from where it spread to the Tsimshian and Tlingit, and then down the coast to the tribes of British Columbia and northern Washington state.

The wood of totem poles eventually rots, so, they rarely last more 100 years in their natural setting.

SOURCE: Canadian Tourism Commission.

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