Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Langley was relocated farther upstream in 1838. This new outpost became a hub of the
fur trade, and in 1858 when British Columbia became a crown colony, Fort Langley was
declared the capital. But the fort's glory days were to be short-lived.
TOTEM POLES
Traveling through the Pacific Northwest, you can't help but notice all of the totem
poles that decorate the landscape, and many can be found in Vancouver and on
Vancouver Island. All totem poles are made of red (or occasionally yellow) cedar
painted black, blue, red, white, and yellow, using colored pigment derived from
minerals, plants, and salmon roe. They are erected as validation of a public record
or documentation of an important event. Six types of poles are believed to have
evolved in the following order: house post (an integral part of the house structure),
mortuary post (erected as a chief's or shaman's grave, often with the bones or ashes
in a box at the top), memorial post (commemorating special events), frontal post
(a memorial or heraldic pole), welcome post, and shame post. None is an object of
