Duncan’s ongoing initiative, the City of Totems, has resulted in one of the world’s most significant outdoor collections of publicly exhibited totem poles.

The initiative began in 1985, intending to attract tourists to Duncan. It has developed cross-cultural awareness and collaboration by involving the passion and support of many brilliant individuals and organizations. Oral history was used by the Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast to document their history, and carved totem poles were used to provide a permanent record of historical occurrences.

The city of Duncan provides a self-guided walking tour to see the totems: Totem Tour Walk

Photo: Google Street View; Anne Delong, CC BY-SA 4.0