Bear and Frog Totem Welcome Sign, Sidney BC
Posted by: 
arby101ca
N 48° 38.685 W 123° 23.724
10U E 470874 N 5388040
Welcoming passengers disembarking from the Anacortes Ferry is an artistic totem pole. The Bear and Frog totem was carved by Tony Hunt as one of the poles on the “Route of the Totems”
Waymark Code: WMFHMR
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 10/22/2012
Views: 5
As part of the revival of totem carving and in preparation for the 1971 Centenial of British Columbia’s confederation with Canada, the BC Government commissioned 11 native artists to carve 19 totem poles. These were installed at ports of entry and various cities and towns along the “Route of the Totem”. Tony Hunt was commissioned to carve the pole in Sidney BC at the Anacortes Ferry terminal (Sidney International Terminal WMF6HQ). The pole is 12 ft high and is dominated by the image of a bear, in the Kwakiutl style. The carver added the frog as a secondary theme as he was familar with carving this figure.
The totem is now over 40 years old and is in good condition for its age. The cedar is splitting and the paint flaking but the carving remains a strong icon. There is no descriptive information at the site explaining who carved the pole, when and why. so I asked a librarian.
An excellent reference book is “Looking at Totem Poles” By Hillary Stewart published in 1993. She explains the history and symbolism of the various totem traditions as well as describing many of the modern carvings including those on the “Route of the Totem”
Tony Hunt is a Hereditary Chief of the Kwakiutl people (Kwakwaka'wakw) of Fort Rupert and Kingcome Inlet, BC and comes from a family of totem pole carvers. His grandfather was instrumental in recreating the art at the BC Museum Thunderbird Park in Victoria. His father Henry Hunt took over the lead role in 1962. At Thunderbird Park Tony and his brothers Stanley and Richard learned the art of carving traditional totem poles. The Bear and Frog totem for Sidney was one of Tony Hunt’s first independent commissions. He went on to create over 100 carvings and is now famous around the world.
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