Story Pole: Dedicated to Remembering Indigenous War Veterans
A Powerful Film and a Curriculum Resource Kit for Teachers in K-12 Education Dedicated to the Service and Sacrifice of Indigenous Veterans
The Film – Story Pole: Indigenous Veterans and the Tallest Pole in the World
Guided by First Nations Elders, the film, ‘Story Pole: Indigenous Veterans and the Tallest Pole in the World” explores the story of Indigenous Veterans and how they are remembered today. This film begins with the story pole carved by Mungo Martin, Henry Hunt, and David Martin, raised in 1956 at MEE-qan (Beacon Hill Park). The mystery surrounding the war memorial plaque dedicated to Indigenous Veterans, found at the base of the pole, serves as a gateway to a powerful story of truth and reconciliation.
[Please Note: The closed captioning is automatically generated. Some phrases are incorrectly interpreted and spelled. To turn on this function, click the ‘CC’ icon on the lower right-hand side of the film screen.]Discuss
Indigenous War Remembrance Education Toolkit Resources
This document is a working draft. We look forward to receiving your feedback as you pilot the activities with your students. We propose a date for feedback of March 2026 when we will revise the resource kit and repost here. Please provide your feedback by email to the War Heritage Research Initiative.
1.9MB PDF
Here is a 3-D model that allows you to project the Pole onto your desk or the floor. You can adjust the size of the pole and walk around it! See the education toolkit (link above) for student activities, or design your own. The story of the pole is found in the film.
iPhone or iPad version only (download 9.7MB .USDZ file).
This Model is provided for free by the good people at Memory Anchor, with the approval and endorsement by the Guardian of the Story Pole, Chief David Mungo Knox. The 3-D model is for educational purposes only. Any use, commercial or otherwise, requires the expressed written consent of Chief Knox. To learn more, please email here.
About the Project
The purpose of the Story Pole project, comprising the film and the education toolkit and its resources, is to provide an opportunity for teachers and students, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to discuss and learn about Indigenous ways of remembering and commemorating the past. The project is inspired by the 94 Calls to Action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. As we move through Indigenous First Nations history together, we move toward reconciliation.
War Remembrance is more than just a minute of silence once a year; it’s an opportunity to consider our own responsibility and what we can contribute to our communities and our Nation(s). “Remembering well” starts with learning about the past and the service and sacrifice of others. We can then consider ways to remember well today.
Many people were involved in the making of the film and they are acknowledged in the film credits and below.
Special thanks to the Martin, Hunt and Knox families, and particularly to Mungo Martin, Henry Hunt and David Martin who carved the pole in 1956. Special thanks to Charles Burchill, a professor at Royal Roads Military College, and Robert Clifton of the Native Brotherhood of BC for laying the war memorial plaque in 1958.
Special thanks to Elders Verna Barker, Mavis Underwood, Butch Dick, Bradley Dick, Mervyn Child, Stan Hunt and David Mungo Knox who guided the making of the film. In this way, there are many First Nations involved, working together as one to honour Indigenous Veterans. Special thanks also go to Ms. Kristy McLeod, a Métis who is a doctoral candidate at the University of Victoria, who worked on developing the toolkit.
The Indigenous stories told in this film are owned by the First Nations who tell them. The stories of families and their members are owned by those Indigenous families. Royal Roads University assists by hosting the film and associated educational materials.
The War Heritage Research Initiative is an ongoing project of remembrance and commemoration. Focused on sites of war memory and the stories they tell, Dr. Geoffrey Bird has written, directed, and produced over 35 documentary films profiling Canada’s heritage related to the World Wars, both in our country and overseas. A site of memory can be a place where history has happened, or even a memorial to a past event; each one serves as a gateway to the past. Local storytellers are important to bringing these stories to life. As ‘guardians of remembrance,’ they help us understand the significance of learning this heritage, how it shapes understandings of our identity, and how the past can inspire us to make a better world. The films are for educational purposes. For more information about the War Heritage Research Initiative, please email us here.
We acknowledge that the Story Pole of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nation stands on the traditional Lands of the Lekwungen-speaking Peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.
The Pole now stands as a war monument to all Indigenous veterans.
Over the years, people of many Nations have worked to maintain the Pole, including many Lekwungen-speaking Peoples.
We thank you for allowing the Story Pole to stand in your Territory.
