Totem Pole

This totem pole stands on Sussex Drive, near Rideau Falls Park.

It features symbols of the unique heritage of the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples of the Pacific coast. At the top sits a thunderbird, which can cause lightning by blinking its eyes and thunder by flapping its wings. The pole also shows a man holding a salmon and a double-headed serpent known as a sisiutl, one of the most powerful beings in the myths of these peoples.

The totem pole is the work of Mungo Martin. It was a gift to Governor General Lord Alexander in 1946, when he was named Honorary Chief Nakupunkim.