Native American Totems

My friend Michey is having a birthday today, so I wanted to share her Birth Totem of Salmon with her and my readers. But first…HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Michey!

Salmon as a Native American Totem gives us medicine concerning wisdom and inner-knowing. Sometimes fighting strong currents from the river, this fish will always return to the place of its origin.  Salmon has a determination driven by instinct and inner knowing that will not allow external forces to thwart its journey. People who have Salmon as a messenger totem or birth totem will be people who finish what they begin, bringing the events of life and their cycles to a closure.

The medicine of Salmon honors all encounters in life with reverence, knowing that they are gatherings of wisdom. Salmon teaches us that even when the flow of life seems to push us back, we know that we can connect with the resources of our human spirit and our personal inner knowing.  Swimming up stream against the current is not always easy in life but honoring our wisdom and instincts to do what is right will carry us through.

When Salmon is in your life you should always reflect on personal experience to determine if the tides are ebbing or flowing in a direction that will benefit your forward movement or growth. It is important to go back to the beginning and retrace your path that brought you where you are and then to honor your wisdom before you make your decision on any event at hand.

The silver skin of Salmon reflects lessons much like a mirror. The lessons will show us opportunities in all situations, the wisdom comes from being willing to listen to the voices of others along with our own quiet inner voice to choose the path to swim on.  People with Salmon medicine do sometimes struggle with the reflections and have to remember to embrace the lessons they have learned along their path and value their inner voice along with the experiences they have gained in life.

Salmon reminds us that every bend in the river is an adventure, some will be easy to navigate and others will be difficult.  This totem teaches us about determination, perseverance, generosity, and strength and to look at situations not as hardships but wisdom gained along the way. When combining the experiences of life, the voices of  those swimming with us, and our inner voice; Salmon will help us to swim a path up the river that brings honor to our beginnings.

To find out more about my friend Michey and her writing you can visit her lenses written on Squidoo where she shows her generosity in teaching some of her wisdom about many topics. You can also visit her blog Michaela’s Blog where she shares some of the wisdom that her Salmon totem has helped her gather while she has swam through the river of life.

~Mitakuye Oyasin! We are all related

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One of the award winning Native American jewelry makers of today is Calvin Begay. This designer and master craftsman was born in Gallup, New Mexico in 1965.

Calvin’s mother and uncle taught him the art of jewelry making. At age 10, he designed his first piece. Calvin Begay has become a true master in every aspect of the design and manufacture of Native American silver jewelry. The Gallup Inter Tribal Ceremonial has bestowed many awards to Calvin including Best of Show in 1989. Arizona Highways and Southwest Art have featured his jewelry in their magazines.

I love Calvin Begay jewelry, most especially his inlay work. He takes traditional techniques to a new level by creating flowing and contemporary styles. His choice of materials blend so harmoniously and fluidly making a piece of art to wear and treasure for its beauty.

The Rectangular Pendant by Calvin Begay pictured here is only one of his designs. I love the combination of turquoise, lapis-lazuli, and sugilite mixing together to form what looks to me like a bird in flight. The pendant is worked in 14K gold instead of the traditional silver. Read more »

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The earliest Native American educators were the Storytellers. The Native American storytelling tradition goes back for centuries and was and is a way for the history of Native Americans to be shared for several reasons. A Storyteller is the Guardian of the history and Sacred Traditions that can help all of us as we try to walk on the Sacred Path to balance. It is most important to keep the ancient knowledge alive for the children to have with them as they grow and begin their journeys helping them to see the Medicine Lessons that still apply today. The arrival of the Storyteller was a much celebrated time for many bands and tribes of North America as they brought the ancient stories along with news of what was happening with the other Peoples they had visited. Births and deaths were reported from other camps so the Storyteller could also be described as a news broadcaster of sorts, too. Read more »

© 2010, bevspaper. All rights reserved.

There are many bird totems in Native American beliefs. Today, I want to talk about the Cardinal and its totem meanings. My friend Joan recently blogged about some bird feeders that she was having trouble getting birds to feed at. She related a story about her granddaughter, Jessica, and how she was fascinated with the Cardinal sounds even as a tiny baby. Jessica helped her Grandma by inviting the cardinals to come and eat. My first thoughts were that Cardinal must be one of Jessica’s spiritual totems, one she has been connected to since infancy.

The native symbolism of the Cardinal is the recognizing of self importance. In earth spirituality there is a rhythm of 12 associated with this bird totem. We can be reminded that there are opportunities to renew our own vitality and identify our life roles. We most probably will see patterns emerge in 12 hours, 12 days, 12 months, or even 12 years depending on what Cardinal is working with us on. Read more »

© 2010, bevspaper. All rights reserved.