Bear with seal

Detail of a pole in Stanley park. In the early 1920s, the construction of an Indian village was proposed for the area near Lumberman©s Arch in Stanley Park. The site was chosen because it was located on a massive shell midden, or cultural mound that was the result of many years of Coast Salish habitation. This large deposit of calcified shells covered an area 8 feet deep and spanning several acres. The original poles were all from the Alert Bay area, but others were purchased from the islands of Haida Gwaii and from Rivers Inlet on the Central Coast. In the early 1960s, the poles were moved to their present location, east of Brockton Oval. All of the original poles have since been moved to museums for preservation and new ones commissioned.