John Smyly was born in Australia and moved with his parents to Vancouver in 1932. He was educated in Vancouver and Victoria and began studying the totem poles of Haida Gwaii in 1955 while doing research for the provincial museum, Victoria. In 1957, he took part in the provincial museum-university of British Columbia joint salvage trip which visited Skedans and Ninstints and became a permanent member of the museum staff in 1965. His first-hand knowledge of the totem poles of British Columbia, their conservation and restoration and his years of study of the Skedans poles in particular, made him especially fit for the task he has undertaken in this works. In 1968, he met and married another member of the Museum staff, Canadian-born Carolyn Case and a historian with museum training in England. They have two children, Kathleen and Jennifer.