Odoodem
/oʊˈduːdəm/noun
In Anishinaabe culture, a clan or kinship group identified by a shared emblem, ancestor, or animal affiliation.
Did you know?English “totem” is historically connected to Anishinaabe odoodem, although the English form arose through early European attempts to record the word.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact period
Ojibwe
odoodem
“His or her clan or kin group; literally analyzed as a possessed form referring to someone’s doodem.”
Traditional Anishinaabe usage
Ojibwe
doodem
“A clan or kinship division, often associated with an animal or other emblematic being.”
1791
English
totam
“An early English recording of an Anishinaabe kinship or sacred emblem term, written by the explorer John Long.”
19th Century
English
totem
“A clan emblem, especially one represented by an animal, plant, or carved figure.”
Modern English
English
totem
“A symbolic object or emblem representing a group, ancestry, or identity; odoodem remains used in discussions of Anishinaabe clan systems.”