Hi Sarah! From my experiment there, The totem pole is a symbol for the town. I had to do a little research on this, but the monument is misinterpreted as a totem pole. It's actually a sculpture of Chief Little Owl from the Nanticoke nation, originally built in 1976. The newest version was installed in 2002 by sculptor Peter Wolf Toth. It's also a part of his art series, "Trail of Whispering Giants". The latest version by Toth was blessed by a descendant of Little Owl with traditional songs, prayer, and tobacco. I think it has become such an icon because of its placement. It's the first thing that greets you when you enter town! Thank you for this question! It was fun to learn something new about a familiar place.