It may be a bit too cold to start looking towards summer, but Parks Canada is hard at work planning a welcome party for a Jasper icon in June. 

The Raven Totem Pole, that was taken down on Apr. 3, 2009 and repatriated back to Haida Gwaii on June 21, 2010, will be replaced by the Two Brothers Totem Pole this summer. 

The new pole will be mostly complete when it arrives from the west coast, but it will bring with it its carvers, who will put the finishing touches on the pole. 

To celebrate this occasion, Parks is working with the following First Nations groups: Alexis Nakota Sioux First Nation, Confederacy of Treaty Six Nations, Bighorn Chiniki Stony Nation, Sucker Creek First Nation, Aseniwuche Winewak Nation, Asini Wachi (Mountain Cree) Band, Metis Nation of B.C., Upper Athabasca Valley Elders Council, Foothills Ojibway Society, Council of Haida Nation and the Kelly Lake Cree Nation. 

According to Lori Dowling, Jasper Totem Pole project manager, local First Nations traditions will be included in the ceremony welcoming the totem pole. Those traditions include a private women’s and men’s pipe ceremony, a smudging, traditional prayers, a friendship ceremony, a free public feast and a round dance. 

The new pole will stand tall about 20 metres from the Raven Totem Pole’s original location facing the town. 

“For 94 years, a magnificent Haida totem pole stood proudly next to Jasper’s railway. It was an important Jasper landmark and a colourful reminder of the community’s early railway history,” Dowling said. “This unique and historic landmark will never be forgotten and its absence in the Jasper landscape is felt by many.”

In September of 2009, three months after the Raven Totem Pole left Jasper, the Ministry of Environment promised the community of Jasper that a new pole would again watch over the town 

“Parks Canada is keeping our promise to the people of Jasper to replace their beloved totem pole,” Dowling said.