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Why do Americans use totem poles?

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Anonymous

11y ago
Updated: 8/17/2019

Only Native American in the tribes in the coastal Northwest carved "totem poles". They are pretty close in cultural meaning to the heraldic coats or arms and mottoes and banners and shields of important or noble families in medieval and early modern Europe. Important northwest clans and clans and families had hereditary rights to stories and images that symbolized their origins. They had those images carved on poles by artists and put up in front of their large houses to indicate who was living there and what their lineage was.

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Wiki User

11y ago

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