As far as I understand it a Totem is (trying too put this simply as it's quite diverse in it's self) like an animal spirit guide. A group would have a totem animal which helps them and from which they feel conected to. This ties in with the belif that there were spirits in everything around us some helpful others not so, and that they can appear in many forms. The animals that held estem inthe various tribes are numerous and not all have the same meaning from one area to the next. They also acted as a kind of who are you code. It is very intresting and there is a lot too look in to on this subject it's worth doing a little digging.Totemism also appears in aboriginal mythology.