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.