totem pole
Carved ancestral pillar
A totem pole is a tall wooden post carved and painted with figures representing family lineage, clan stories, or spiritual beings, traditionally made by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest.
The figures are stacked vertically, which gives rise to the phrase low man on the totem pole—someone at the bottom of a hierarchy, though on actual totem poles, position doesn't necessarily indicate rank.
Northwest Coast indigenous people
- Pacific NorthwestCoastal American region, northward
- First NationsCanada's non-Inuit indigenous peoples
- indigenousOriginating in a region
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
potlatch · chief · elder · longhouse · village · ceremony · regalia · oral tradition
Highest point or tuft
- emblemRepresentational sign or device
- figureOutline or numeral
- eagleLarge predatory bird
- ravenLarge black carrion bird
bear · wolf · thunderbird · orca · salmon · frog · beaver · human figure
Durable, fragrant conifer
- chiselEdged carving implement
- adzeTransverse-bladed hewing implement
- woodworkCraft of building with lumber
- whittlingKnife-carving wood into shapes
craftsmanship · redwood · grain · mallet · log · bark · paint · pigment
Haida
Northwest Coast indigenous people
- Pacific NorthwestCoastal American region, northward
- First NationsCanada's non-Inuit indigenous peoples
- indigenousOriginating in a region
clan · potlatch · chief · elder · longhouse · village · ceremony · regalia · oral tradition · community
crest
Highest point or tuft
raven · bear · wolf · thunderbird · orca · salmon · frog · beaver · human figure · mythical creature
cedar
Durable, fragrant conifer
- chiselEdged carving implement
- adzeTransverse-bladed hewing implement
- woodworkCraft of building with lumber
whittling · craftsmanship · redwood · grain · mallet · log · bark · paint · pigment · figure
rank
Position in hierarchy
bottom · order · sequence · stacked · vertical · position · chief · noble · commoner · importance
ancestor
Predecessor in lineage
- spiritSoul, mood, or liquor
- guardianProtective caretaker of another
- supernaturalBeyond natural explanation
reverence · sacred · ceremony · shamanic · animism · respect · honoring · memorial · mortuary · protection
- wood carvingswoodcarving, carving, wood carving, wood spirit, carved masks
- posts and polesfence post, flagpole, lamp post, goal post, goalpost
- BC CoastVancouver Island, Victoria, Nanaimo, Duncan, Sidney
- CanadianaCanadian, Canadian flag, maple syrup, maple leaf, beaver
- Northwest Folkloresasquatch, thunderbird, raven, spirit animals, trickster
- AlaskaFairbanks, Juneau, Denali, Sitka, Kodiak
totem polecrucifix
Cross with Christ figure
stupa · minaret · obelisk · church steeple · standing stone
totem polegrave marker
Monument identifying burial spot
headstone · tombstone · gravestone · burial mound · mausoleum