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Q: Why do Native Americans hate snow?
A: Because it’s white and settles on their land. |
Tag: Indians
Joke Of The Day: Stillaguamish
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A river n Washington State, a little north of Seattle, is a river called the Stillaguamish, but it wasn’t always called that. It was originally named “Aguamish” after a local Indian tribe.
When Lewis & Clark finally made their way to the west coast they came to the Aguamish tribe and met the chief who told them what the name of the river was and gave them a tour of the area. Years later Merriweather Lewis returned and met the Aguamish chief again and the subject finally came around to the river: “Chief, I’ve been told that, because of so many white men have arrived in the area, many of the rivers are being renamed because they couldn’t pronounce the names. Tell me, what is the name of your river now, please, ” Lewis pleaded. “Oh,” replied the chief. “It’s Stillaguamish.” |
Native American Symbolism
All throughout human history, man has been using animals as a subject matter on their art craft. Through time, animal symbols and pictures have appeared on caves, ornaments, paintings, and sculptures. Different cultures regarded animal symbols with different meanings. Some of the animals symbolize power and some of them represent gods.
Native American animal symbols were brought about by the way that they lived their lives. They communicated with their Creator through interaction with anything that breathes, hears, smells, senses and sees, which includes animals.
While it’s not easy to believe, almost every Native American believes that they are guided by a spirit and it is usually represented by an animal. As they journey through their lives, different animals come into play that somehow influences them in one way or the other.
Probably the most popular and well known Native American animal symbol is the buffalo. To them, it represents the bounties of the mother earth as they use the buffalo in a lot of ways. Aside from the meat and the milk that nurtures them, they also made their clothing out of the buffalo’s hides and use it to help them plough their lands. The buffalo also symbolizes wisdom, renewal, and personal power.
The eagle also plays a prominent part in the Native American’s culture. It represents divine spirit that they believe would protect them and all living things that surround them. It also signifies freedom and courage and carriers of prayers, visions, and spirits. It is common for the Natives to believe that eagles are emissaries from heaven.
One of the Native American animal symbols that you will often find on different ornaments and weavings is the lizard. They are believed to symbolize strength and they serve as spiritual guide that can help them cure the sick. It is also believed to promote dreaming and sometimes symbolizes agility and conservation.
Unique to the Navajos, who are one of the Native Americans who lived in the southwestern part of the United States, is the horned lizard. To them, it signifies perseverance and secret keeping. Horned lizards can often be found on Navajo’s stories and tales.
The hummingbird, on the other hand, symbolizes devotion, permanence and eternity. Native Americans observed that although hummingbirds are small, they are known to be good at protecting their territory and will fight ferociously to defend it.
Since parrots are connected to the sun and the rainy season, they have been considered as messengers from gods that can bring specific prayers and blessings.
Although most of us think of owl as a sign of being wise, some tribes of Native Americans such as Apache and Navajo consider them as messengers of bad news. When someone gets an encounter with an owl, it means that they are going to get bad news or worst, someone is going to die. It is something that they avoid at all cost as it is always associated with death.
Among the Native American animal symbols that became popularly associated with the Indians is the bear. As it was depicted in the movie “The Legends of The Fall,” the bear is known to be a good protector that also symbolizes the wild and untamable side of humanity. It signifies strength and leadership and often mentioned in tales as the first helper in the creation.
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Joke Of The Day: NASA And The Indian
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When NASA was preparing for the Apollo project, they did some astronaut training on a Navajo Indian reservation.
One day, a Navajo elder and his son were herding sheep and came across the space crew. The old man, who only spoke Navajo, asked a question, which the son translated: “What are the guys in the big suits doing?” A member of the crew said they were practicing for their trip to the moon. The old man got really excited and asked if he could send a message to the moon with the astronauts. Recognizing a promotional opportunity for the spin-doctors, the NASA folks found a tape recorder. After the old man recorded his message, they asked the son to translate. He refused. So the NASA reps brought the tape to the reservation, where the rest of the tribe listened and laughed, but refused to translate the elder’s message to the moon. Finally, NASA called a official government translator. He reported that the moon message said: “Watch out for these guys; they’ve come to steal your land.” |
Joke Of The Day: Three Wishes
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A bunch of Indians capture a cowboy named “Clint”, and bring him back to their camp to meet the chief.
The chief says to Clint, “You going to die. But we sorry for you, so give you one wish a day for three days. On sundown of third day, you die. What is first wish?” Clint says, “I want to see my horse.” The Indians get his horse. Clint grabs the horse’s ear and whispers something, then slaps the horse on the ass. The horse takes off. Two hours later, the horse comes back with a naked blonde. She jumps off the horse and goes into the teepee with Clint. The Indians look at each other, figuring, “Typical white man – can only think of one thing.” The second day, the chief says, “What your wish today?” Clint says, “I want to see my horse again.” The Indians bring him his horse. Clint leans over to the horse and whispers something in the horse’s ear, then slaps it on the ass. Two hours later, the horse comes back with a naked redhead. She gets off and goes in the teepee with the Clint. The Indians shake their heads, figuring, “Typical white man – going to die tomorrow and can only think of one thing.” The last day comes, and the chief says, “This your last wish, white man. What you want?” Clint says, “I want to see my horse again.” The Indians bring him his horse. Clint grabs the horse by both ears, twists them hard and yells, “Read my lips! POSSE, damn it! P-O-S-S-E!” |
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