August 14 2024 –
After forty years, one of the most recognizable totem poles at Stanley Park’s Brockton Point will be relocated. In early September the Kakaso’las totem pole carved by celebrated Kwakwaka’wakw artist Ellen Neel will be returned to the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of British Columbia, following the conclusion of a loan agreement between MOA and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation dating back to 1985.
The relocation of the pole back to the museum is happening in close coordination with MOA and Ellen Neel’s family, due to the age and condition of the pole. Based on an assessment of the pole, the Neel family decided that the pole should return to MOA where it can be preserved into the future and continue to tell the history of Ellen Neel and her legacy. The Neel family, including Ellen Neel’s granddaughter, Lou-ann Neel, is supportive of, and advocated for, this return so that the pole can begin the next chapter of its life at MOA. The relocation from Brockton Point to MOA is scheduled for September 4, 2024.
The Kakaso’las totem pole was carved by Ellen Neel in 1955. It stands six metres tall and features prominent figures including the Thunderbird with a whale on its chest, followed by a Sea-Bear holding a killer whale, a man holding a frog, Bak’was (the Wild Man of the Woods), Dzunuk’wa (Giant of the Woods), and a Raven at the base.
It was one of five poles commissioned by the Woodward’s Department Store and initially installed at their Westmount Mall location in Edmonton, Alberta. The pole was carved at Neel’s Ferguson Point Studio in Stanley Park, with assistance from her sons Robert, Dave, and John (Ted Jr.) Neel. Woodward’s donated the pole to MOA in 1984, where it was restored by Robert Neel before being installed at Brockton Point through the long-term loan agreement in 1985.
Any protocols or ceremony that may need to take place for the pole’s relocation are being decided by the family of Ellen Neel. Additionally, the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations are being kept informed through the Stanley Park Intergovernmental Working Group.
For more information, please visit Ellen Neel’s Kakaso’las totem pole relocation | City of Vancouver