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Where and when to see new Reconciliation Pole at UBC

The totem pole remembers the time before, during and after Canada's residential schools
James Hart
Haida artist James Hart with the Reconciliation Pole on the grounds of the University of B.C. in 2016. Photo Dan Toulgoet

Thousands of copper nails will glint in the sunlight Saturday, each metal face symbolic of a child who died in Canada’s residential schools.

Survivors, families of victims and survivors, and present-day school children hammered those nails into a 55-foot totem pole carved by acclaimed Haida artist 7idansuu “Edenshaw” James Hart. Known as the Reconciliation Pole, the carved, 800-year-old red cedar tree will be installed in a place of honour at UBC on April 1.

The ceremony, taking place on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people, begins at 1 p.m. with the pole raising expected to begin at 2:30 p.m. on the Main Mall between Agronomy Road and Thunderbird Boulevard.

See this map of campus.

There is parking at the Thunderbird Parkade (6085 Thunderbird Blvd).

The artist created a storyline on the pole, which shows the periods before, during, and after the Indian residential school system, a racist and assimilationist system ran in tandem by the Canadian government, religious institutions and the education system, beginning in the 1800s and ending with the last school closure in 1996.

james hart reconciliation pole

According to the university, “The bottom half of the pole represents the time before Indian residential schools and features salmon, a bear and a raven. A schoolhouse, fashioned after a residential school Hart’s grandfather attended, is carved in the middle with students holding hands above it. The top half of the pole represents the time after residential schools and features spirits, family, and a canoe. On top of the pole is an eagle about to take flight.”

Hart said that eagle represents, “The power and determination needed to look towards the future.”

The Reconciliation Pole, commissioned by the Audain Foundation and UBC, will face north on the Main Mall, looking toward the future site of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, which will hold records of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The centre will open in the next academic year.

James Hart
At work last year, Haida artist James Hart. Photo Dan Toulgoet


In a prepared statement, the artist said, “My hope for the pole is that it moves people to learn more about the history of residential schools and to understand their responsibility to reconciliation. The schools were terrible places. Working on the pole has been difficult but I have loved it too. We need to pay attention to the past and work together on a brighter future.”

UBC president and vice-chancellor Santa Ono said, “James Hart’s carvings are truly breathtaking. This pole reflects UBC’s commitment to provide continued education and awareness about the Indian residential school system and the steps we must take to move forward together.”