（黄浦）
The first explorers who saw totem poles called them “monstrous figures.” Missionaries(传教士) thought that the Native Americans worshipped the totem poles, and they encouraged their destruction. But the missionaries were wrong. Even today, when people refer to the “low man on the totem pole, ” they do not realize that the largest figure was usually on the bottom and was the most important.
The origin of the first totem pole is uncertain. It is known that totem poles told stories about rich and important Native American families. An artist carved the pole to represent a family’s traits and personal strengths
