DCHP-1 Online
crest 
1 n. among West Coast Indians: the symbol of a social group such as a clan or phratry.
See also: totem crest
- 1888 The Kwãkuitl and Salish tribes are not distinguished by animal totems, but derive their origin each from a man who was sent down from heaven by the deity, and who, in some way or other, obtained his crest from a spirit.
- 1916 A totem is a "crest column."
- 1964 One well-known authority . . . believes that much of what is commonly believed to be aboriginal in coast Indian culture, such as the clan system, the use of crests, and the carving of totem poles, did not exist before the time of contact, but was in a sense a product of the fur trade.
2 n. among West Coast Indians: the social group identified by this symbol.
- 1954 He was seeing Elora as she was now . . . the lissome, bright-eyed, teasing little girl he could not have because she was of his crest.
- 1954 On top of that we know the parents of the two boys. One is of our crest, from Kitwancool.
- 1888 The Kwãkuitl and Salish tribes are not distinguished by animal totems, but derive their origin each from a man who was sent down from heaven by the deity, and who, in some way or other, obtained his crest from a spirit.