The Spirit of Lekwammen "The Land of the Winds"

This cedar totem pole has an interesting history - it was once the tallest in the world. It also marks a site of important cultural significance, particularly to the First Peoples of the Lekwungen territory. 

In 1993, the Songhees Nation initiated a project called "The Spirit of Nations" to create a totem pole in honour of the 15th Commonwealth Games taking place that year in Victoria. “The games are about excellence and we are striving to erect the world’s tallest totem pole as a testament to the native coastal nations of British Columbia and a legacy to the games,” said the then games executive Ed Oscapella. Crafted from a single 500-year-old western red cedar tree, the pole took 11 carvers, led by Richard Krentz, almost four months to complete.

On August 4th, 1994, the totem pole was raised here at Songhees Point. It measured 180 feet and 3 inches (about 55 meters) tall, making it the tallest in the world at the time. Named The Spirit of Lekwammen (meaning "Land of the Winds"), it symbolized the unification and friendship of all visiting Nations to the Lekwungen territory. Sadly, in 1997, the pole had to be reduced in size. Due to its height, it had become an air traffic hazard and a safety concern. It was dismantled and reconfigured into four sections. Two sections were reinstalled at Songhees Point and can be seen there today. The tallest section remaining there now measures just 40 feet (12.19 meters). The other two portions were returned to the Songhees Nation.

This site was chosen as the home for The Spirit of Lekwammen to mark its importance to the Lekwungen people. Now called Songhees Point, it was once known as p’álәc’әs (Pallastsis), meaning "Place of the Cradle." Mothers would release their children's cradle boards into the water here to celebrate a child having reached a year old, and to ensure the child's long life. This site was also known to be an important gathering place where other visiting Nations would come to meet and trade. Cultural knowledge and practices like these that survived the destruction inflicted by settler colonialism have only done so through the tenacity of Lekwungen people. The site remains a sacred place to this day.