Native American symbols are visual representations that hold deep cultural and spiritual meaning. They convey concepts, stories, teachings, and values that are important to Native American tribes. Symbols allow Native peoples to pass down knowledge and tradition from one generation to the next through artistic expression. Many Native American symbols remain culturally significant today and connect modern Native Americans to their rich heritage.
Some common Native American symbols include animals like the eagle, bear, wolf, turtle, and bison. Natural elements like the sun, moon, lightning, rain, and stars also hold meaning. Other symbols represent tribes’ relationships to the earth, seasons, directions, and cycles of life. Abstract symbols convey spiritual ideas or historical events central to a tribe’s identity and worldview. While there are some overarching symbols used by multiple tribes, each Nation also has its own unique set of symbols representing its distinct culture.
In this article, we will explore some of the most prominent symbols used in Native American culture, their historical origins and meanings, the tribes who use them, and their continued relevance today. Understanding these symbols provides insight into the cosmology, values, and traditions of Native peoples. The symbols connect modern Native Americans to their roots and help educate others about the beauty and diversity of indigenous cultures.
The Eagle
One of the most ubiquitous symbols in Native American culture, the eagle represents a spiritual connection between the earth and sky. The eagle epitomizes vision, power, and intelligence. Its ability to soar high above the earth links it to the heavens, while its keen eyesight represents perspective and insight.
Many tribes incorporate the eagle into lore, art, and rituals. According to a Cherokee legend, the Eagle was one of the three primary animals placed on earth (along with the bear and wolf) to protect and provide for humans. Some Plains tribes compare the eagle’s role as a hunter to that of warriors protecting and providing for their communities.
| Tribe | Meaning of Eagle Symbol |
|---|---|
| Cherokee | Vision, wisdom, power |
| Osage | Connection between sky and earth |
| Navajo | Bearer of prayers |
| Lakota | Divine spirit |
| Hopi | Messenger to Creator |
The eagle often represents tribal religion and spirituality. Navajos view the eagle as carrying prayers to the Creator. Hopis see the eagle as a direct link between earthly tribes and the divine. Eagle feathers and parts are sacred and used in religious rituals, dances, and tribal regalia.
Many tribes still closely identify with the eagle today. It remains an important symbol of vision, spiritual connection, power, and nobility.
The Bear
For Native American tribes, the bear symbolizes strength, family, vitality, and healing. As skilled hunters, bears represent courage and physical prowess. Their clan-like social structure within family units resonates with the deeply held tribal value of community.
Here are some of the meanings associated with the bear by different tribes:
| Tribe | Meaning of Bear Symbol |
|---|---|
| Zuni | Good health |
| Chippewa | Intelligence |
| Sioux | Spiritual energy |
| Cree | Connections between realms |
| Haida | Inner knowing |
Bears hibernate during the winter, so they represent the cycle of death and rebirth. Their re-emergence in spring signifies renewal. Some tribes viewed bears as boundary keepers between the mortal world and spirit realm. When bears shed their claws and fur, tribes collected these for use as sacred medicine and ceremonial garb.
Various Native American rituals and festivals honor the bear. For example, the Haida potlatch ceremony includes dancers wearing carved bear masks and skins to symbolize protection, abundance and unity. Some tribes have Bear Dance ceremonies asking the bear spirit to provide healing or procure food for the year.
Today, many tribes still equate bears with family, healing, and seasonal renewal of the earth.
The Wolf
For Native tribes, the wolf symbolizes intelligence, deep connection to instincts, and community loyalty. Wolves have intricate social structures comparable to some tribes. They communicate effectively, collaboratively hunt, and care for wolf pups together. This resonates with the strong kinship bonds within most Native American communities.
Here are some of the symbolic meanings of wolves among various tribes:
| Tribe | Meaning of Wolf Symbol |
|---|---|
| Navajo | Teacher, pathfinder |
| Cherokee | Intelligence, loyalty |
| Hopi | Guidance in dreams |
| Zuni | Good-heartedness |
| Iroquois | Family unity |
For Navajos, the wolf represents a teacher or pathfinder. Cherokees tell a fable of a white wolf that lived with the tribe and protected them from enemies, embodying the values of intelligence and faithfulness. Hopi and other Pueblo tribes derive guidance from wolves that appear in dreams and rituals.
Wolves are incorporated into tribal dance regalia, totem poles, pottery, blankets, and other artworks. Their distinctive howling is often mimicked in ceremonial songs and dances. Annual sun dances include wolf dances to instill loyalty within the community.
The wolf remains a strong symbol of family, community, and ancestral wisdom for Native American communities today.
The Turtle
Turtles represent immortality, persistence, endurance, and connectedness to the earth for Native American tribes. Turtles’ long lifespans (often over 100 years) signify longevity and ancient wisdom passed down through generations. Their self-contained shells epitomize protection, connectedness, permanence, and introspection. Turtles’ connection to water represents their fluid relationship with the spirit world.
Here are some turtle symbol interpretations among Native tribes:
| Tribe | Meaning of Turtle Symbol |
|---|---|
| Iroquois | World resting on its back |
| Lenape | Bearer of great wisdom |
| Chippewa | Inner reflection |
| Hopi | Long life |
| Navajo | Protection |
The Iroquois see the turtle as holding up the earth on its back. Lenapes carve turtle shells to represent the turtle’s ancient knowledge. Hopis and other Pueblo tribes draw spiritual meaning from petroglyphs of turtles found near ancestral sites. Turtles frequently appear in pottery, sand paintings, rock art, masks, and ritual tools like rattles and drums across Native cultures.
Modern Native Americans still equate turtles with long life, contemplation, and connections to wisdom passed down from their elders. The turtle is highly revered as a meaningful symbol of tenacity, tradition, and intuition.
The Bison
American bison (often called buffalo) hold great spiritual significance for many plains Native American tribes. Before European colonization, bison provided food, clothing, tools, and shelter – sustaining Native tribes through their meat, hide, bones, fur, and horns. Bison represent abundance and prosperity. Killing a bison is ceremonial – tribes use every last bit of the animal for their survival needs.
Different meanings of the bison symbol among Native tribes include:
| Tribe | Meaning of Bison Symbol |
|---|---|
| Sioux | Sacred with all parts used ceremonially |
| Comanche | Connection between realms |
| Blackfoot | Revered as main food source |
| Crow | Indicator of health and biodiversity |
Sioux and other tribes consider the bison a sacred creature that provided their way of life before colonialization. Bison remain central to Sioux creation stories, dances, and rituals. Comanche people viewed the bison’s return after winter as a bridge between the mortal world and afterlife. The Blackfoot tribe’s creation myth places humans and bison together on earth at the beginning of time, so the bison became their main food staple. The Crow tribe believed healthy, plentiful bison herds indicated overall environmental and spiritual vitality.
Today, modern Native Americans advocate for bison conservation as crucial pieces of America’s indigenous heritage. Though bison herds are smaller, they retain deep cultural meaning.
Thunderbirds
The thunderbird is an iconic legendary creature in Native American culture, particularly among tribes in the Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes regions where thunderstorms are prevalent. It is depicted as a powerful spirit taking the form of a huge bird that creates thunder claps by flapping its massive wings and brightens the sky with flashes of lightning from its eyes.
Here are some examples of what the thunderbird represents to different tribes:
| Tribe | Meaning of Thunderbird Symbol |
|---|---|
| Haida | Creator, transformer |
| Kwakwaka’wakw | Power of thunder and lightning |
| Algonquian | Controller of weather and seasonal changes |
The thunderbird often guards over spirits crossing between different planes of the supernatural and natural worlds. Many tribes see the thunderbird as a creator, transforming beings and landscapes. Thunderbirds are depicted on totem poles, in dances, and other art forms.
Though a legendary creature, the thunderbird remains an important symbol of divine power over the sky, storms, and the changing of the seasons. It connects many Native American cultures through oral histories and artistic traditions.
The Sun
The sun’s consistent cycle in the sky makes it an essential symbol for many Native American cultures. It embodies constancy, renewal, light, energy, and the passage of time.
Different Native tribes ascribe unique meanings to the sun:
| Tribe | Meaning of Sun Symbol |
|---|---|
| Navajo | Life energy |
| Pueblo | Giver of wisdom |
| Cherokee | Provider |
| Sioux | Protector |
Navajos call the sun “the heart of the sky” and believe its rays provide essential life energy. Pueblos view the sun as instrumental in growth cycles and imparting knowledge. Cherokees see the sun as a generous provider and established east-facing entrances in homes to greet the sun each morning. Lakota Sioux pray facing the sun, which they consider a guardian watching over the people.
Many tribes believe their ancestors or deities reside in the sun’s warmth. Some hold annual sun dances to honor the sun’s constancy and life-giving light. Solstice ceremonies mark the sun’s faithful transitions. Solar eclipses signify momentous occasions.
The sun’s daily and seasonal movement makes it one of the most universal Native American symbols, representing continuity within change.
Conclusion
Native American symbols articulate complex cultural narratives that still resonate strongly for modern Native peoples. Eagles, bears, wolves, turtles, bison, thunderbirds and the sun remain integral to tribes’ cosmovisions and oral traditions. These symbols link today’s tribal members to ancestral wisdom passed down across millennia through sacred art, dance, song, and storytelling.
While tribes ascribe unique meanings to certain symbols based on local landscapes, histories, and beliefs, overarching themes emerge. Animals represent qualities like strength, vision, and intelligence. Natural forces denote energy, continuity, and the passage of seasons. Symbolic meaning derives from Native cultural values of interconnection across communities, the mortal and spirit worlds, the earth and heavens.
Simple on the surface, Native American symbols contain layers of profoundly meaningful concepts that anchor Native peoples to their rich heritage. Understanding this cultural symbology provides deeper insight into Native worldviews built on reverence for nature, community, and ancestral wisdom. Their messages of patience, resilience, spirituality, and world wholeness remain relevant to people from all backgrounds today.
