Grizzly bears have been important in Native American Indian culture for centuries and they hold the bear in high regard. This magnificent animal has always commanded great respect from the people who have shared its land.
What do Grizzlies mean to Native Americans?
Native American tribes, many of whom believe the bear represents a deity, revere these powerful animals and have long held them in high esteem, acknowledging their size, strength, speed, and dexterity. They understand that bear behavior is extremely complex and believe that they are different from the other animals they come into contact with. Due to this longstanding admiration, the animal has featured in many traditional legends.
What did the brown bear mean to the Native Americans?
Often seen as the subject of paintings and jewelry engravings, brown bears became a symbol of strength for the Indians. Animals represented many different meanings and were part of various rituals in Native American culture. The Indian Bear Dance was a dance performed to bring back the ghosts of the ancestors, but it was also believed that the spirits of the ancestors joined the dance to help the bears relax and fall asleep during their long hibernation. This particular dance preceded the Circle of Life Dance, which was performed around a fire, and the dancing, singing, and chanting of the lyrics were thought to bring warmth and light while the Grizzly Bears hibernated.
Native American Indians have always had a healthy respect for bears; they feared them despite hunting them for food, fur, and claws, which they fashioned into jewelry like necklaces. Because the Native American Indians believed the animal to be so spiritually powerful, the jewelry was thought to provide protection and good health for the wearer.
Even today, members of these ancient tribes can be seen wearing necklaces made from bear claws; however, with modern hunting laws and conservation efforts, most are in fact very old. These objects were very valuable to the Indians, so very few are available for viewing outside of the Indian tribes. Some dating from the 1800s are now kept in museums and you can see one at Harvard’s Peabody Museum.
The relationship between grizzly bears and Native American Indians is a special one, steeped in tradition, history, and belief. It is fascinating and moving to know that it continues today as it has for so many centuries.