A pole or pillar, carved and painted with a series of totemic symbols, set up before the house of certain Indian tribes of the northwest coast of North America, esp. Indians of the Koluschan stock.
While many thing of the Totem Pole as a symbol of native people & their cultury, their production was limited to six tribes in British Columbia and southeastern Alaska. Tribes which carved Totem Poles: Bella Coola Haida Kwakiutl Tlingit Tsimshian West Coast Pole carving flourished in the 19th century, to tell stories or commemorate historical events. Each tribe had its own distinctive style. The figures carved weren't gods or demons, but symbolic, like the figures in European Heraldry. Totem Poles were not worshipped, but the stories they told often inspired respect or veneration.
a pole carved and painted with representations of totems, erected by natives of the northwest coast, especially in front of their houses.
a tribal emblem consisting of a pillar carved and painted with totemic figures; erected by Indian tribes of the northwest Pacific coast
a carving that tells a story or family history
a large, Native American wooden carving representing family history and spirits
a pillar carved and painted with a series of symbols representing family lineage and often mythical or historical incidents
a symbol of the qualities, experience and exploits of the clan
a wooden column carved with men or beasts, or both