Nuxalk Totem Pole Completes 1,000 km Journey Home, More than 100 Years After Being Taken

Hundreds of Nuxalk Nation members gathered in Bella Coola yesterday to welcome a stolen totem pole home for the first time in a century.

Carved by Chief Louie Snuxyaltwa in the 1800s, the pole was stolen from the village of Talleomy and sold to the Royal BC Museum in 1912.

A group of Nuxalk Hereditary Chiefs discovered it on display during a visit in 2019, and reached a verbal agreement to have it returned.

When that agreement was not fulfilled, Chief Deric Snow, the great-grandson of the original carver, filed a lawsuit against the museum.

But, last month, the museum announced plans to satisfy their original agreement and return the pole home.

It began the 1,000 km journey from Victoria to Bella Coola last Monday, finally arriving at the Acwsalcta School gym yesterday afternoon.

It will remain on display at the school for one year, before being relocated to its final, permanent, home.