Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Totem pole \To"tem pole\ or post \post\
   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.

Source : WordNet®

totem pole
     n : a tribal emblem consisting of a pillar carved and painted
         with totemic figures; erected by Indian tribes of the
         northwest Pacific coast