In 1969, at the age of 22, he spent 3 1/2 months, six days a week, carving a traditional Haida totem pole, assisted by his 14-year-old brother Reg. No poles had been raised on Haida Gwaii for almost 100 years. Many of the older poles had been taken down after Christian missionaries called them pagan idols, and when collectors, ethnologists, and other officials were allowed by the government to take poles away ostensibly for preservation and study.
