Manataka American Indian Council
SYMBOLS
OF THE
MIGHTY PLAINS PEOPLE
The people of
the Great Plains are no less great than the vast expanse of open
prairies, magnificent mountain ranges and woodlands in which they
lived. As deeply spiritual people and highly evolved as a society,
they communicated their thoughts, ideas and dreams from generation
to generation through symbols.
The examples below are but a small sample of the total number
of symbols used by the Great Plains people. Not every
tribe used these same examples, however, as with sign languages,
they were often used as a common means communication to convey a
central idea. Tribes used their own colors for designs and
symbols depending on their location and availability of various
plants and minerals used to make paints. Symbols were
constructed from materials close at hand, including clay, animal
hides and wood that were either carved, painted or sculpted to
achieve the desired effect.
Each of the symbols below are important, but in an effort not
to lessen the importance of some of the more sacred symbols, they
have been omitted out of respect.
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ARROW - Protection |
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ARROWS CROSSED - Friendship |
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ARROWHEAD - Alertness |
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BEAR TRACK - Good Omen |
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BIRD - Carefree, Lighthearted |
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BUTTERFLY - Everlasting Life |
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CACTUS - Sign of the Desert |
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CACTUS FLOWER - Courtship |
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CEREMONY DANCE ENCLOSURE |
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COYOTE TRACKS |
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DAYS AND NIGHTS - Time |
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EAGLE FEATHERS - Chief |
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FENCE - Guarding Good Luck |
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FOUR AGES - Infancy, Youth, Middle & Old Age |
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GILA MONSTER - Sign of the Desert |
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HOGAN - Permanent Home |
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HORSE - Journey |
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HOUSE OF WATER |
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LIGHTNING - Swiftness |
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LIGHTING SNAKE |
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MAN - Human Life |
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MEDICINE MAN'S EYE - Wise, Watchful, Knowing |
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MORNING STARS - Guidance |
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MOUNTAIN RANGE |
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PATHS CROSSING |
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PEACE |
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PLENTIFUL CROPS |
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RAIN - Plentiful Crops |
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RAIN DROP - Plentiful Crops |
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RATTLE SNAKE JAW - Strength |
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RUNNING WATER - Constant Life |
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SKY BAND - Defiance, Wisdom |
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SNAKE - Defiance, Wisdom |
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SUN RAYS - Constancy |
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TEPEE - Temporary Home |
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THUNDERBIRD - Sacred Barer of Happiness |
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THUNDERBIRD TRACK - Bright Prospects |
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WARDING OFF EVIL SPIRITS |
ANIMAL
TOTEMS
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BADGER- the ability to reach a desired goal, industrious |
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BEAR - strength, inner power to perceive ones present circumstance |
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BEAVER - progressive builder, one who promotes family unity |
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BUFFALO - steadfast endurance to rise above one's weakness |
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COYOTE - ability to laugh at oneself, humor |
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EAGLE - a soaring spirit that transcends personal problems, a connection to the Divine |
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FOX - camouflage, protection, stealth; intuitive, resourceful |
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FROG - for centuries able to petition the spririts to bring forth abundant rain; calm, flowing |
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HORSE - one of only two fetishes that have innate healing powers; speed |
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MOUNTAIN LION - leadership, resourcefulness |
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RAM - used to procure an increase of herds; perseverance, agility, loyalty |
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RAVEN - this bird's beak is scratched across an afflicted person's skull releasing it's healing powers |
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SNAKE - a powerful fetish symbolizing life, death and rebirth; friend of dreams |
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TURTLE - a symbol of long, meaningful life |
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WOLF - teacher, path finder on the never ending journey for survival; strong character, tenacious |
NAVAHO
SYMBOLS OF HEALING: A Jungian Exploration of
Ritual, Image, and Medicine