totem pole
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totem pole
a pole carved or painted with totemic figures set up by certain North American Indians, esp those of the NW Pacific coast, within a village as a tribal symbol or, sometimes, in memory of a dead person
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Totem pole
A wooden post carved and ornamented with the emblem of a clan or family, and erected in front of the homes of the Indians of the northwestern United States.
Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved