In 1990, the totem poles' conservation conditions made it impossible to keep them upright safely any longer. A wooden structure was built around each of them in order to be able to lay them on the ground and protect them in storage. The public was invited to take part in a "farewell to the totems poles" on 12 May 1990, an event continued by a procession and music to launch a petition for a new Ethnography Museum. This event was documented by the Genevan photographer Jean Mohr. L. Monot/MEG