Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol: Round 1 — Coastal

When you look at all the symbols that define British Columbia, there may not be one with more meanings to different people over the last 200 years than the totem pole.

"They both symbolize, I think, what's the best and the worst of British Columbia history, all wrapped in that one symbol," said John Lutz, a University of Victoria historian who wrote the chapter on totem poles in the book, Symbols of Canada. 

From their origins in pre-colonial British Columbia as visual representations of family histories, to their 20th-century use as an appropriated tourist symbol across Canada, to the modern campaign of returning them to home communities, totem poles have served as different symbols of identity, power and community.

There are many reasons for that, but symbols often derive meaning from their visual impression on people — and as Lutz points out, totems make quite an impression.

"They were refined in this very monumental, I want to say, showy style," he said. 

"For the family [that carved it], it was essentially a statement of history. But for the casual observer, this was a piece of magnificent, magnificent art that was unlike anything else anywhere in the world." 

In the Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol, the totem pole is one of 16 symbols associated with coastal British Columbia in its own section of the bracket, along with other symbols of transportation (Ferries and SkyTrains), fashion (yoga pants and Gore-Tex jackets), food (Nanaimo bars and pirate packs), and much more.

Voting will take place over several weeks. A series of one-on-one matchups will narrow the number of symbols from 64 to 32, 32 to 16, and eventually down to one champion:

While the coastal symbols may be well known, Lutz said B.C.'s diverse geography and history mean that the winner from this section may not galvanize all of the province.

 "Within the geographic diversity, of course, we have B.C.'s Indigenous culture and history. We've got many waves of settler cultures that have come and contributed and mixed it all up," he said.

"So that's the real challenge for the competition, I guess, is to find something that we can all get behind."

Voting is open until 10 p.m. Pacific time on Wednesday.