Duncan has installed more than 40 totem poles through its downtown core, carved by artists from the Cowichan Tribes and several other Coast Salish and Pacific Northwest First Nations. The poles are scattered along the main streets and in public spaces throughout the town centre, making them accessible on a straightforward walking tour.
A free self-guided walking map is available from the visitor centre on Canada Avenue. Each pole carries an interpretive panel explaining the crests and figures depicted and the nation responsible for it. The collection is genuinely diverse — different carving traditions, different nations, different stories — and spending an hour walking between them is a good introduction to Pacific Northwest Indigenous art traditions without the museum setting. The best-known poles are grouped near the train station on Canada Avenue.