Totem animals.

The word "totem" was introduced into English in 1791 by a British merchant and translator, who gave it a false meaning, believing that it denotes a spiritual guardian of a person who appears in the form of an animal. In the late 18th century, the Ojibwe named their clans after those animals that inhabit the area where they live and appear either friendly or intimidating. The first accurate account of totemism in North America was produced by Methodist church missionary Peter Jones of the Ojibwe tribe. He wrote that the Great Spirit gave the Ojibwe clans tudaims (totems) and that it should never be forgotten that the members of the group are related to each other and for this reason cannot marry among themselves.