Thunderbird Park

Thunderbird Park is right next to the Royal BC Museum and is home to many totem poles (mostly Gitxsan, Haida, and Kwakwaka’wakw) and other First Nations monuments. The park takes its name from the mythological Thunderbird of Indigenous North American cultures which is depicted on many totem poles. All poles have a purpose, most tell a story, and many figures are easily recognized including Thunderbird, Raven, Bear, and Killer Whale.
Besides the Totem Poles in this Park, Gayle and I noticed a carving studio, St. Anne’s Schoolhouse (built 1844), Helmcken House (built in 1852 by Dr. John Helmcken), and Mungo Martin House (Wawadit’la), a traditional Kwakwaka’wakw «big house» built in 1953 by Kwakwaka’wakw Chief Mungo Martin. The park is part of the Royal BC Museum Cultural Precinct, an area around the museum that contains a number of historical sites and monuments.