Below I have listed some items that are symbolic to the Natives along with there meaning. Hope you enjoy.

Arrowhead: Represents alertness, some Indians didn't like to pick up arrowheads they found as they thought some where poisoned and if cut by them they would die. The poison is said to be from the blue thing on a rabbits liver combined with something else, which isnt mentioned. they were also baked in something maybe a plant to poison it.

Buffalo Horns: Symbol of success

Cactus Flower: Means courtship or Romance

Feather: Sacred universal symbol of flight within the spirit world and serving as messenger to great spirit.

Flowers: a relationship to the sun

Kachina: can be a force of nature such as life, death, fire, flood, or the spirit of revered ancestor and the dancer at a ceremony

Lasso: symbol of captivity

Medicine Bag: Vessel containing herbs, remedies and or stones necessary for healing and protection.

Medicine Wheel: represents the way of life for Natives. It symbolizes the circle of life, the seasons, the stages of life and the gifts from nature.

Moon: Earth protector and gaurdian in night

Morning Star: honored as kachina by most pueblo tribes, sign of courage and purity of spirit.

Music: Ritual of communication with great spirit with the singers life breath. A method of settling disputes between tribes.

Peyote: Psychedelic button of the peyote cactus used in religious ceremony to induce spiritual vision and connectedness with higher realms.

Pipe: Used in negtiations of peace and war, to offer sacerd tobacco smoke to the four directions and in religious ceremony

Prayer Stick: covered and painted cottonwood or cedar sticks decorated with feathers and images for a specific prayer, planted at sacred sites to send prayers to the creator or to the kachinas

Rattle: represents the characteristic sounds of animals and nature.

Shield: a warriors sacrd possession from time of first battle until death, the design would be recieved in a dream by an elder who would then make the shield for the new warrior.

Tobacco: Sacred herb used to make offerings, treat disease, seal agreements and smoked for enjoyment.

Tomahawk: Hatchet- like object used in ceremonies and war, often showed carvings of owners life events as recognized in trade as the Indian blanket.

Totem: represents guardian spirits of an individual, family or tribe.

                      Kachina Dolls

 

Throughout the summer seasons ceremonies and dances are preformed by Hopis dressed as "spirit" being called Kachinas. These dancers are thought of as spiritual messengers who convey the wishes of the Hopi people through prayers, songs and dance. Every symbol, design and color on the mask, bodies, and clothing of the dolls has definite symbolism and meaning.. With direct connection to the Hopi life, custom, history and religion. Kachina dolls are life like images or carvings called " TIHU " by the Hopis. These are made to be presented to the Hopi girls as an education medium to teach them about the Hopi beliefs , customs, and ceremonies. Kachina doll is not a toy, it is a accurate image of the live Kachina dancer. They are carved and painted from the soft roots of the cottonwood tree. Another name the Hopis called the Kachina doll was " Spirit Father "

Here are some Kachina Doll Meanings

   
 Bear - Courage and strength. Represents great power to cure the sick.
Eagle - Rules the sky. Represents strength and great power.  
Wolf - Great hunter. Teacher and pathfinder.
Ogre - Disciplinarian of the children. Represented as black or white.  
Owl - Intelligence and wisdom. Keeps rodents in check.
Deer - Dances to increase his kind, therefore ensuring abundance.
Ram - Dances to increase his kind, and has power over the rain.  
Snow - Brings snow and cold weather essential for the growth of crops.  
Badger - Cures the sick. Prayers for the growth of healing herbs are
 given to him.  
Lizard - Fighting kachina. Brings sweethearts together.  
Crow Mother - Guardian of children.  
Corn Maiden - Purifies women who grind the corn for ceremonies.
Hummingbird - Appears as a runner. He is a brilliant impersonator.  
Morning Singer - Appears on rooftops and sings to waken the village.  
Buffalo Warrior - Assures there will be adequate food for winter.  
Wolf Warrior - Assures there will be adequate food for winter.
Buffalo - Most powerful kachina. Kills evil thoughts and is a spiritual
 protector.  
Hototo - Preparer of food. Most respected war kachina.
Antelope - Dances to increase his kind. Brings rain.  
Shalako - Most magnificant. Towers seven feet high. Brings rain.  
Mudhead - Powerful kachina who acts as a clown and enforcer.  
Butterfly - Lands on flowers, used by the medicine man.
Kokopelli - Hunched back flute player. Brings rain and fertility.
Sunface - Warmth and shelter for the elderly, a bright future for the
 young.
Broadface - Carries yucca whips to enforce community cleansing.
Left Hand - Reverse kachina, does everything in the opposite.
Chasing Star - Represents planets and stars. Returns fallen stars to
 the sky.
Snake Dancer - Sends messages with the snake to ask for rain.  
Hilili - Guard kachina known for the call he makes.
Long Horned - Brings long life.  
Long Hair - Brings rain. Always singing.  
Fancy Dancer - Fan passes prayers to the heavens.
Traditional Dancer - Entertainer. Passes along prayers.  
Eototo - Kachina Chief. Controls the seasons. Knows all ceremonies.  
Aholi - Lieutenant to the Eototo. Accompanies the Eototo to bring rain.
Squash - Important as a plant. Signifies food source.
Mouse - Hero of Second Mesa. Rid village of a pesky chickenhawk.
Clown / Koshari - Powerful enforcer, entertains crowds.
 

                About the Sacred Pipe

Generally Sacred Pipes consist of two parts, a tobacco holding bowl made of bone, wood, stone, or metal (as in calumet pipes) and a stem, usually made of wood. The Pipes of the Plains were usually made out of soft, red catlinite stone (found in southwestern Minnesota).

When the bowl and stem of a Sacred Pipe are joined the pipe is considered to be a living entity. The pipe is a ritual object created to focus and alter the consciousness of the user. It has its reflection in the human body and in the Universe. The pipe is a cosmos unto itself uniting all dualities within Creation. The pipe,
when joined, is a living being with energies coursing up and down its spine. Although the pipe represents one of the highest form of Native spirituality, you do not have to be a pipe carrier to receive the messages from the universe or to live a sacred life.

WHAT DOES THE BOWL REPRESENT?
Includes: Earth Mother, Female, Heart of Creation/Creativity, Birth, Rebirth,  Womb, The Stone people , The Heart , Soil, Fertility, Life, Grandmother Moon.

WHAT DOES THE STEM REPRESENT?
Includes:Sky,Father,Male ,Spine,Transcendent, Impregnating, Original Energy, God Beyond Creation ,The Phallus, The Tree Nation, The Airway, Lightning/thunder, Grandfather Sun.

BEGINNING THE PROCESS:  Your intentions should be pure, peaceful and for the greater good.  Keep negative and violent thoughts away.  The purpose of smoking the pipe is to provide harmony, balance and wholeness. The pipe is not to be used as a vehicle for a self-indulgent wish list. Ego has no place here.

JOINING THE PIPE: Before joining the pipe, the stem and bowl are laid on a ceremonial blanket or held in the right and left hands respectively. The stem is lifted to the stem hole in the bowl as if in greeting; the stem is then fitted into the bowl. If the pipe is being used in ceremony or prayer, it is normally turned away from the body with a one-quarter turn.

HOLDING THE PIPE: The bowl of the pipe is held in the left hand (closest to the heart). The bowl is cradled gently in the open palm.
The stem is held near the top generally with an overhand grip when a pipe ceremony leader is praying in public, and in an underhand, palm
up, grip for private ceremony.

LOADING THE PIPE: Native tobacco (Kinikinik) is normally used, and each pinch that is inserted into the bowl means something.  The reason tobacco is used is because its roots go deeply into the earth, and its smoke rises high into the heavens. The tobacco represents both the seen and unseen worlds, and the connections that every living being within these two realms have as a huge and cohesive group. For example, the flying, crawling, swimming beings; four and two-leggeds; Mother Earths blood (water), air, fire, earth, star nation, planets, Ancestors, Stone and Tree families, and on and on......They all meet inside the bowl in a peaceful dance.

LIGHTING THE PIPE: The pipe should generally be lit with a wooden match or taper  for it represents the fire of Creation meeting its
children. (Ms Thunderbird also believes in adapting to modern times and using the best the Europeans have to offer; long barbecue lighters work really well!)

SMOKING THE PIPE: The pipe in the right hand should switch from an overhand to an underhand grip almost as if you are sipping water from the heel of the palm. The smoke is drawn down the stem and not inhaled.
The smoke for a moment merges with the breath and at that moment, the sacred and the profane become one; it is then gently released into the air as a whole being and the smoke carries prayers and intentions to original Creator.  When you have finished smoking, the right hand should return to an overhand grip and the pipe should be passed clockwise to the next person.

PASSING THE PIPE: The pipe is nearly always passed in a clockwise direction representing the travel of the sun. The pipe is passed with an overhand grip on the stem and a careful cradling of the bowl. The pipe is received with two open, upward palms, and then the bowl
is cradled in the left hand while the right hand closes over the stem in an overhand grip.

POSTING THE PIPE: This means the pipe is set on an altar which could be a buffalo skull, 2 forked sticks, rock or ceremonial blanket. During the time the pipe is posted the conversation should remain spiritual.

BREAKING THE PIPE: When the pipe ceremony is finished the pipe is taken apart by holding the bowl in the left hand and stem in the right. The ashes are returned to the earth and blessed. The stem is turned away
 from your body one quarter turn then pulled straight out of the bowl. When not in use, the two parts are usually stored separately.

WHO ARE KEEPERS OF THE SACRED PIPE: Normally pipe carriers are those individuals who have been walking and talking their earth walk in a good way for many years, and who have accepted the responsibility that goes with such an onerous undertaking.  Individuals should not give themselves a pipe because this is viewed as self-indulgent and
arrogant.  Sadly, it is the case however, that more and more folks after a spiritual weekend here or there, are suddenly pipe carriers. In these instances, the pipe has no value, magical or spiritual essence.  If you purchased a pipe for yourself, hang it on your wall, it has no spiritual value, and like Elvis, the Ancestors and all things magical have left the building!

HOW DOES AN INDIVIDUAL RECEIVE A PIPE? 
Giving oneself a pipe is not appropriate. In the time of the Ancestors, the pipe was 'dreamt' by one person (already a Pipe Carrier) on behalf
of another, or it was passed down from Mother to Daughter, Father to Son, AND only after the receiver had shown themselves to be worthy.   There are very serious ceremonies that are undertaken before a pipe is smoked or used in ceremony. It must become the property of the carrier and, therefore, there are rituals involved for that process.  A pipe is normally received in  only two time-honoured ways and this
is only after years of learning and walking the walk.

(a) A legitimate Elder or Traditional Teacher who is a pipe carrier and who has earned the right to give pipes and who does NOT know you, yet has had at least four profound experiences about you (dreams,
visions).

(b) A legitimate Elder or Traditional Teacher who is a pipe carrier and who does know you and has had at least four profoundexperiences
 about you (dreams, visions).