THE BUTTERFLY - KIMIMILA

The butterfly means mainly transformation, but also positiveness and sensitivity.  For the Native American people, the beauty of the butterfly family has been a symbol of transformation, resurrection, giving the ability to rise above humble beginnings. The butterfly follows the natural flow of life in perfect balance and harmony, and brings you the teaching of having the ability to let go of old concepts and expand into the next stage of life. This could mean accepting many changes in your life, be it physical or emotional, like learning how to accept the phases of age, from maiden to mother, and to an elder. Butterfly helps us to transform negative feelings into positive ones, and also brings clarity of mind. It also represents beauty, joy and color as the butterflies are multicolored,  winged,  joyful little beings.

beaded medicine pouch





MORE PICTURES OF BEADWORK

There is a little history of beadwork posted in the month of February, check it out. Here are more pictures of beadwork.

CHOKERS - THE REAL REASON FOR ITS USE

Chokers are nowadays used as jewelry, as decorative apparel for men and women, but in the old times, traditionally chokers were used as protection for warriors during battles as a way to protect their necks against aggression from knives or spears, and chokers also gave spiritual protection for the warrior's voice. It was also believed that the person could acquire great speaking ability to talk during tribal councils when wearing a properly made bone choker. To be properly made they had to be crafted by a medicine man, or many times the helpers to the medicine man were the ones to make the chokers, but never by the wearer.
The chokers were made from bird's bones, and later from buffalo's bones. They can be made with different numbers of strings, from 1 to 6 or even extended as a half breast plate or a mini breast plate.

WAR SHIELDS OR MEDICINE SHIELDS

The Native American war shield or medicine shield wasn't used only for the warrior's protection during battles, but it also represented the warrior's personal vision, his spiritual power and medicine which came to the warrior during a vision quest (hanblecheya) on the top of a mountain. During his vision quest, the warrior spends 3 to 4 days fasting, alone on the top of a sacred hill, makes his offerings and prayers, and his mind is totally in tune to the spiritual world, to the Great Spirit. During this time he will have dreams or visions that will give him his personal power. After his vision quest, the warrior goes to the medicine man of the tribe who will then interpret the vision for the warrior. This interpretation given by the holy man will be transferred to the person's shield, and can also be symbolized on the walls of his tipi. Because of this very important process an individual shield was a very important item, not only for physical protection, but also for the spiritual protection it provided. The medicine shields were thus carried with the man and also put in places of honor to the East of the warrior's lodge.


deer hide medicine shield




raw hide medicine shield




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painted mini shields

                                          



mini shield earrings

The personal medicine shield was made of animal skin or hide stretched over a wooden hoop. Around the edges were attached feathers, fringes and other objects. It had a special symbol painted on it representing the warrior's vision, be it an animal that came to him, or some element of nature such as lightning, the sun, the moon, etc. The color was also important for the shield confection. The person could also add his medicine bag or his special totem to his medicine shield.

THE BEAR - MATO

The Bear represents Power, Wisdom, Dreams, Visions, Strenght. For some tribes, Bear is the most spiritual and potent of all the four-legged creatures, being like a man in many ways because it can stand upright on two legs. It was Bear who taught the Native people which plants were good to eat. We say that Bear is the main creature who will lead us to medicine, as it holds great knowledge of healing plants. Bear also taught us to balance activity with rest. In winter the bear finds a secure den or cave where it will hibernate until spring. This is the time to seek for dreams and visions. Bear shows us that it's very important to find quiet times, to seek solitude away from the stressful activity of modern life, which will help us to nourish our inner world, give us time for ideas, insights and inspirations to arise, and also to renew our physical strenght. In many tribes, the medicine person will carry Bear power, and Bear claws are part of ceremonial jewelry or medicine bundles which provide healing and protection.


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bear claws necklace

the beautiful grizzly bear

powerful black bear

 The Lakota people have a very sacred place where they always practiced their ceremonies, and still do these days; it's Bear Butte mountain in the Black Hills.

THE EAGLE - WAMBLI



 In the Native American tradition, Eagle (Wambli in Lakota) is the most sacred of birds, because eagle is the one that flies the highest, in order to reach the Great Spirit. Eagle feathers have great power for the people and they are given in honor of acts of courage. They are sacred tools used for blessings, prayers, ceremonies and cleansing the aura. Eagles are now a declining species and therefore they are protected. It's illegal to possess eagle feathers, except for some tribal people. Eagles have great strenght and the ability to soar, besides an acute vision, and because of these features eagle is connected with the Creator, Great Spirit.
Eagle medicine can lift us into the realm of spirits and bring us illumination, insight and clear vision concerning our life and the path that we should follow, the path ahead of us, which is visible from the eagle's heights.

Mandala with soaring eagle painting

     

Eagle claw choker

                                  

BEFORE THE EUROPEANS

Just a little bit of history. Before the Europeans arrived in the Americas, there were more than 500 tribes (a collective group of 22 million people) living in what is now the United States of America. Here are the names of some tribes from across the country:
Northeastern tribes: Iroquois, Abnaki, Passamaquody, Narraganset, Wampanoag, Montauk, Delaware, Powhatan, Winnebago, Chippewa, Ottawa, etc.
Southeastern tribes: Cherokee, Shawnee, Chickasaw, Creek, Catawba, Choctaw, Miccosukee, Seminole, Natchez, etc.
Northwestern Tribes: Colville, Cayuse, Yakima, Spokane, Nez Perce, Shoshone, Bannock, Flathead, Kootenai, etc.
Southwestern tribes: Paiute, Apache, Hopi, Navajo, Hualapai, Havasupai, Yavapai, Ute, Zuni, Pima, Pueblo, etc.
West Coast tribes: Yurok, Pomo, Salina, Cahuilla, Chumash, Esselen, Maidu, Diegueno, etc.
Great Plains tribes: Blackfeet, Gros Ventre, Crow, Cheyenne, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Assiniboine, Arapaho, Sioux, Ponca, Omaha, Pawnee, Kiowa, Comanche, Osage, Kansa, etc.

According to 2010 Census, the Native American population is now ONLY 1.0%..........

BUFFALO - TATANKA



buffalo medicine shield edged with beads




buffalo medicine shield



painted buffalo skull

For Lakota people, the buffalo means protection, stubborness and generosity. Buffalo is the giver of abundance to the people, it was a major source of sustenance: meat for food, hide was used for clothing, shelters, tipis and sweat lodges; fur used for blankets, sinew used for sewing, and the bones were carved for many uses. One of the most sacred stories of the Lakota people is that of White Buffalo Calf Woman, a radiant being who brought the sacred pipe to the people. The pipe represents the union of all life with Creator. The stem is made of wood from the tree people, and the bowl, made of red catlinite, represents the blood of the people. The natural tobacco used in the pipe is the sacred herb of prayer and connection with the Great Spirit, the smoke ascends towards the sky and carries the prayers to the Creator. This way, the significance of the buffalo to Lakota people is the teaching of abundance, gratitude and prayer.

BEADWORK: Leggings, moccasins, medicine bags, hat band, mini rug

BEADWORK - A LITTLE HISTORY OF BEADS

Beads were one of the most important trade items acquired by Native Americans from the early European fur traders. The Sioux people soon became masters at the art of beadwork. But before European beads were here (glass beads from Venice, Italy; silver and brass from Germany) the Sioux and other tribes used things they found in Nature to ornament their clothing and everyday utensils. The Sioux people used porcupine quills dyed in bright colors and woven into intricate designs. Also bones, stones (like turquoise and coral used by Southwestern tribes), shells, animal teeth, claws that were often wore in necklaces to show proof of a hunter's powers. Small animal bones were polished and shaped into tapered cylinders called hairpipe bone and used for neck chokers and breastplates. Sea shells, the most common material used for handmade beads, have been important Native regional trade items for thousands of years.
Since the 1960's, modern beadwork such as watchbands, purses, belts, etc, have been imitated in oriental factories and imported very cheaply. This brought a competition with high-quality beadwork of Native American artists. A U.S.General accounting office study done in the mid 80's indicated that Native American artists have lost tens of millions of dollars in potential sales (over an 8-year period) to these fake imported items. In the 90's the government passed the Native American Arts And Crafts Act [18USC Sec.1159,1993], which states that it is a federal felony to offer imitations as the product of Native artists.

AND MORE DREAM CATCHERS

MORE DREAM CATCHERS

Dream catchers of different sizes and styles, beaded with glass beads, hanging feathers, or hanging fringes with glass beads. They can be made of willow, weaved with sinew, or weaved with different colors of thread. They can have a bead in the center, or a stone, or a circle of beadwork. There are many different choices and creations.

THE LEGEND OF THE DREAM CATCHER

The legend says that when a dream catcher is hung above the place where you sleep it moves freely in the night air and catches the dreams as they drift by. The good dreams, knowing their way, pass through the hole in the center of the web, while the bad dreams, not knowing the way, are caught in the web and destroyed at the first light of the morning sun. The Ojibwa are credited as the first people to use dream catchers during the 60's and 70's, but many other tribes and Native peoples have since then adopted Dream catchers into their culture.

HORSES OF THE FOUR DIRECTIONS

"A GLORIOUS VISION"

"High in the sky he was carried in his dream and up among the towering clouds to a beautiful teepee made of flaming rainbows where he met a council of six grandfathers who represented the Great Spirit. They told him he was being sent out across the sky to see the future of his people and the world. Riding a bay horse and followed by four troupes of horses, twelve in each troupe, one black, one white, one yellow and one red (whom I believe represented the four races of man), he started on his journey. On this journey he saw repeatedly that though his people at the time of the dream were walking in the sacred way, under the flowering tree of their understanding and unity, they were soon to become sick in the spirit while great clouds and storms of darkness would surround and pummel them. Towards the end he saw them fleeing through a storm like frightened swallows, each voice crying alone and all unity lost. Later he was to understand that this great storm that broke and scattered his people was brought by the coming of the white people who conquered them, broke their spirit and filled their minds with so much conflict they indeed became lost. Yet he was given the promise in his vision that something beautiful was coming and somehow the darkness would pass and a new day be born. He saw the Daybreak Star come from the east and with it a Sacred Being, all colored red, who turned into a bison, and he understood that though the buffalo would be lost to his people, something else equally good would take its place. He saw also that he would help bring back the spirit of his people and plant the Sacred Herb that grew up into a mighty Tree of understanding, spreading its beautiful branches over the earth and filled with singing birds. Under this tree the Sacred Hoop of the Sioux, the symbol of their unity, but which had been broken, grew back together again. Then he saw many other hoops of other peoples and around them one great hoop that meant they had come into unity and understanding. Last he saw that the day was so beautiful that even the rocks and trees danced with joy in the glorious light, also the four-leggeds, the winged peoples and the two-leggeds."
Vision from the Lakota holy man, Black Elk. - From Voices of Earh and Sky by Vinson Brown