Woodcarver wearing a baseball cap demonstrates traditional carving techniques to a young observer while working on a wooden totem pole.

A totem pole for Cologne

A partnership with Cowichan First Nations

Our mission

An ordinary red cedar tree is transformed into a unique totem pole! Between August 21 and October 5, 2013, carvers from the Cowichan First Nation crafted this deeply meaningful gift for the city of Cologne.

In Cowichan tradition, a totem pole serves as a guidepost offering protection, strength, and wisdom. Over several weeks, figures of a thunderbird, a female bear, a female wolf, and two salmon took shape in the wood—symbolizing the profound connection between humanity and nature.

Since mid-November 2014, Cologne’s totem pole has stood in the garden of the Amsterdamer Straße Children’s Hospital. There, it serves as a source of comfort and encouragement, offering patients, families, and hospital staff a daily reminder of life's natural cycles.

This initiative was made possible through the generous support of Globetrotter Cologne.

Thunderbird and Bear

Canadian master carver Harold Joe from Duncan, Vancouver Island, along with assistant George Rice, crafted Cologne’s first totem pole from a giant western red cedar over 100 years old.

The tree had originally grown in a forest near Dormagen and was removed due to trunk rot. Thanks to support from the German Forest Conservation Society (Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald), the timber was preserved and made available for our project.

Carved totem pole featuring yellow eagle head with red and green eye, black gill details on wooden post.
Over the course of several weeks, the animals took shape on the totem pole. As such, it symbolises the close connection between nature and humankind.

Excerpts from our wildlife blog (21 August 2013)

As soon as Harold and George began carving the massive log, passersby stopped to watch in awe. Guided by "Uncle Harold," several onlookers even picked up tools themselves to help carve assigned details. Children were particularly captivated, eagerly convincing the master carvers to let them try their hand at shaping the wood.

The two Cowichan carvers felt a genuine warmth and enthusiasm from the people of Cologne, who showed a deep interest in both their craft and the ancient rainforests of Canada’s West Coast. Harold and George were honored to share a piece of their living cultural heritage while raising awareness about the urgent threats facing their ancestral homelands.

Craftsperson painting a wooden carving with a brush, focused on detailed work on a large wooden sculpture.

Hand holding a paintbrush with red paint, preparing to paint light-colored wood.

Craftsperson chiseling wood with a wooden chisel and mallet, wearing a black shirt and face mask.

Child in blue shirt showing an art project to an older man at an outdoor table event.

Large wooden totem pole with colourful facial features towering over a busy urban plaza with vehicles and pedestrians.

Man wearing black cap carving wood in workshop with wooden blocks and red design elements visible.

Hands working with a wood chisel on a geometric pattern of red and black triangles carved into a wooden surface.

Carved totem pole featuring yellow eagle head with red and green eye, black gill details on wooden post.

Craftsmanship: A person sanding a wooden musical instrument with inlaid black sound hole and coloured sections using sandpaper.

Wooden fish carving with detailed scales and fins sculpted into light wood block

Two craftspeople work on a wooden plank with red and black designs at an outdoor woodworking event.

The "Totem Pole for Cologne" campaign fills us with pride. Together, we have sent a message in support of forest conservation right in the heart of Cologne’s pedestrian zone. So that no one will soon be asking: ‘Where’s the rainforest?’
Jenin Ziemens Environmental Ambassador

Special thanks to all the partners involved:

  • Globetrotter Cologne
  • German Forest Conservation Association
  • Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum
  • Amsterdamer Straße Children’s Hospital
  • and the master carvers, as well as the many volunteers who supported this wonderful carving project over the course of six weeks.

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