The Spiritual Power of Native American Totem Poles
Stories in Cedar, Lessons in Life, and a Reminder That We Are Part of Something Bigger
There are certain things humans create that seem to have an energy extending far beyond the material they're made from.
A wedding ring is more than metal.
A family photograph is more than paper.
A gravestone is more than rock.
And for the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest who traditionally create them, a totem pole is far more than a really impressive piece of carved wood.
Totem poles can carry family histories, ancestral connections, rights, crests, important events, stories, relationships, memorials, and cultural identity. They are particularly associated with Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast, including Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwakwaka'wakw and other nations.
And before we go running down the metaphysical trail with Octo-foot carrying the snacks, there's an important distinction to make:
There isn't one universal “Native American meaning” of a totem pole.
Different nations, communities, clans, artists and individual poles have their own traditions and meanings. Totem poles aren't representative of all Native American cultures, either.
Understanding that actually makes them more fascinating, not less.
A Totem Pole Is a Story You Can Stand Beside
Imagine telling an important story without writing a book.
Instead, you carve it into a massive cedar tree.
Animals, humans and supernatural beings may appear throughout a pole, but these figures aren't simply decorations.
They can represent clan crests, ancestors, histories, privileges, legends or significant events.
A raven might have a particular meaning within one cultural context. A bear, eagle, wolf, frog, whale or other being can carry its own associations and history.
That means looking at a pole and declaring:
“The eagle always means THIS!”
can completely miss the point.
The actual meaning belongs to the people and traditions connected with that pole.
That's something worth respecting.
Are Totem Poles Spiritual?
This is where things become especially interesting from the Make Peace With Life™ perspective.
Totem poles can certainly be connected to spiritual traditions and beings, but it would be misleading to describe every pole simply as a “spiritual object.”
Some commemorate the dead.
Some record histories.
Some display family or clan identity.
Some welcome visitors.
Some are connected with houses.
Some commemorate important people or events.
And historically, some even served purposes that might surprise people—including ridicule or shame poles.
Yes.
Apparently humans figured out the giant wooden version of publicly calling somebody out long before social media.
But underneath these different purposes is something that resonates strongly with me:
Connection.
Connection to ancestors.
Connection to family.
Connection to community.
Connection to stories.
Connection to the natural world.
Connection between generations.
And connection to something larger than the individual.
Now that starts sounding pretty metaphysical.
The Tree Itself Matters
Many traditional Northwest Coast poles are carved from western red cedar, a tree deeply important to many Indigenous cultures of the region.
Think about the symbolism for a moment.
A tree spends decades—or centuries—growing from the Earth.
Then human hands transform that tree into something capable of carrying stories forward for generations.
Earth becomes tree.
Tree becomes art.
Art becomes memory.
Memory becomes connection.
And eventually, because wood is organic, the pole itself returns to nature.
That's a pretty powerful reminder about our own lives.
Nothing stays physically unchanged forever, but what we contribute can continue moving through other people.
So What Can Totem Poles Teach Us Today?
This is where I think we need to be careful.
We shouldn't take sacred or culturally specific Indigenous traditions and turn them into generic metaphysical accessories.
You don't need to create your own “Native American totem pole” or borrow ceremonies that aren't yours.
Instead, we can respectfully learn from the larger human questions these extraordinary works raise.
And the first one is enormous:
What story are you leaving behind?
Most of us spend an unbelievable amount of time thinking about what we're accomplishing today.
Did I answer the emails?
Did I finish the project?
Did I clean the house?
Did I pay that bill?
Did I remember why I walked into the kitchen?
Important stuff.
But zoom out.
What will people remember about you?
Your kindness?
Your humor?
Your adventures?
The way you treated people?
The stories you told?
The things you taught your children?
The times you helped somebody when there was absolutely nothing in it for you?
That's your story.
Remember the People Who Came Before You
Totem poles can also remind us of something modern life sometimes causes us to forget:
Nobody begins from zero.
There were people before us.
Parents.
Grandparents.
Great-grandparents.
Teachers.
Friends.
Mentors.
Communities.
People whose choices eventually affected our lives even though we may never know their names.
You don't have to believe in communicating with ancestors to recognize their influence.
Parts of their stories continue through us.
Their strengths.
Their mistakes.
Their traditions.
Their recipes.
Their sayings.
Their values.
Their incredibly questionable fashion decisions from 1974.
All of it becomes part of the strange energetic river that eventually reaches you.
Find Your Symbols
Another lesson we can take—not by copying Indigenous symbols, but by examining our own—is the power of symbolism.
What represents your life?
Maybe it's a mountain because you survived something difficult.
Maybe it's an ocean because that's where you feel peaceful.
Maybe it's a bicycle because riding makes you feel alive.
Maybe it's a guitar because music changed your life.
Maybe it's a photograph of your family.
Maybe it's something nobody else would understand.
That's fine.
It only needs to mean something to you.
Put meaningful objects around your home.
Carry something that reminds you who you want to be.
Create your own artwork.
Keep family photographs.
Write down family stories.
Save letters.
Record grandparents telling stories while they're still here to tell them.
Those objects and stories become anchors.
Think Vertically
There's another visual lesson I love about the pole itself.
It rises upward.
And while I wouldn't claim this is the traditional Indigenous meaning of every pole, we can personally use that image as a metaphor.
Imagine your life stacked vertically.
At the bottom are your foundations:
Where you came from.
Above that:
What you've learned.
Then:
Who you love.
Then:
What you've overcome.
Then:
What you're becoming.
And above everything else:
What you're reaching toward.
Suddenly your life isn't just a collection of random Tuesday afternoons.
It's a story.
Your Life Is Bigger Than You
Perhaps that's the greatest lesson I take from encountering a totem pole.
We live in a culture that constantly tells us to focus on ME.
My success.
My money.
My followers.
My achievements.
My stuff.
But meaningful lives rarely exist in isolation.
We're part of families.
Communities.
Friendships.
History.
Nature.
Future generations.
Every kind word you speak enters somebody else's story.
Every child you encourage carries a little of that encouragement forward.
Every person you help can potentially help someone else.
Every piece of wisdom you share can outlive you.
That's an Energy Pool stretching across generations.
Make Peace With Your Place in the Story
A traditional totem pole deserves to be understood first through the culture and people who created it—not through whatever spiritual interpretation outsiders might want to place upon it.
But respectfully learning about these incredible works can inspire us to examine our own lives.
Who came before me?
What do I stand for?
What stories am I preserving?
Who am I connected to?
What am I passing forward?
What will remain because I was here?
You don't need your story carved into a 40-foot cedar pole.
Maybe it's being carved every day through something much simpler:
How you love.
How you laugh.
How you help.
How you treat strangers.
How you raise your children.
How you respond when life gets difficult.
How you leave people feeling after you've crossed their path.
Your life is already telling a story.
So make it a good one.
Honor what came before you.
Create something meaningful while you're here.
Leave some positive energy behind for whoever comes next.
And somewhere in the middle of that enormous human story, remember to Make Peace With Life™.
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