Native Americans believe, like many other cultures, that birds link both the physical world and the world of spirits. Prayer fans are crafted from a great variety of feathers from many different birds depending on the type of ritual or ceremony that is to be conducted. It is believed that a transfer of the bird’s spirit takes place in the feathers and thus is included right in the prayer fan itself.  Therefore, the Native American craftsmen are extremely careful in the selection of the feathers and the fabrication of the fan.

During a ritual or ceremony the use of a fan sends a specific prayer message to the Great Spirits in the Heavens above. A fire is started and the message is sent by waving the fan in and out of the smoke. The prayers are thus carried upward by the smoke to the Spiritual Realms above.

If the ceremony is for a physical ailment, certain healing herbs are burned in the fire, and the resulting smoke is wafted towards the sick individual to help effect a cure. This is called smudging. Several different herbs create the healing smoke.  Sage is usually the first herb used in order to encourage any lurking evil spirits to flee from the area.  Next, cedar is burned as it is believed to refresh and cleanse. Then smoke from sweet grass is fanned in order to attract beneficial spirits. Finally, depending on the ailment, smoke from various restorative herbs are fanned and directed to that part of the body that is in need of healing.

Native American Prayer Fans differ, of course, depending on location, tribal beliefs, and ceremonial customs.  They can be flat and stiff, flat and loose, or even double-sided. The Native American craftsmen select certain types of feathers depending on the purpose of the fan. Much time and care are expended in the fabrication. Feathers must be selected carefully and paired together, then ceremonially washed in special herbal solutions and dried before being crafted together.

Many people collect Prayer Fans as a part of their Native American collection to be displayed at home. However, some do recognize the care and sacred devotion that went into their creation and consequently make use of them in cleansing and healing of body and soul.  They give them the recognition and respect as a sacred object of Native American Art.

Click on this link to view our beautiful selections of fans.  We carry selections from Navajo, Creek and Cherokee Tribes.  All come with Certificates of Authenticity.

As mentioned, the “peace pipe” is what we are familiar with today. However, over the centuries, many different pipes have been crafted and used by Native American Indians throughout the North American continent.  There are a variety of types of pipes for various purposes that have arisen over time.  One style is a long stemmed pipe that is used by Plains Indians like the Sioux.  They hollowed out a wood stem and attached it to a stone bowl.  It became knows as a Pipestone Pipe and has been used for hundreds of years in ceremonies and various rituals. This stone was found in the area now known as Minnesota.  However, the use of this type of pipe spread throughout the continent due to trading practices of the various tribes.

Animals and Nature are a very important in the daily spiritual and personal lives of Native American Indians. They reflect this importance in their art and crafts. The Shamans used pipes that have bowels that have been carved with various fetish animals such as the eagle, wolf, bear, buffalo, etc.  Every Shaman had his own special spirit guide that was represented by the animal carved in the bowl of the ceremonial pipe that he used in the ceremony.

The Sioux tribe had another type of pipe known as the Plains Pipe. It was for both ceremonial and personal use.  The pipe was often lit up and passed around when there was a gathering of men. It would be passed from man to man in a clockwise direction and proper protocol had to be followed.  Sweat lodge ritual participants also made use of this pipe during their sacred ceremonies.

After the Europeans arrived, the metal hatchet or tomahawk became a favorite tool. One variety would be a tomahawk with a hollowed handle and a bowl formed on the opposite end of the blade. This tomahawk would have been present during talks of war. If peace was the theme during these talks, then the bowl would be lit and the tomahawk pipe would be passed from man to man and smoked. Then the host would take the tomahawk outside and bury it preventing the weapon from being used.  Today, “Bury the Hatchet” is the phrase that has come down to us from this tradition.

Today, the centuries old traditions of the Native American Pipe are continuing to be expressed. Skilled American Indian craftsmen produce many different styles that represent their cultural diversities. These range from simple pipes with a limited amount of decoration, to elaborate ones made with leather, fringe, feathers, beads, antlers and bones. These make wonderful wall hangings and can bring into your home the essence of the Native American Indian culture.  Check out the Pipe Category on our site.  There you will find every variety from Mini Social Pipes to Pipestone,  Peace Pipes and Ceremonial Pipes, Animal Totem Pipes, Laced Pipes, and Hatchet Pipes. The Pipes are crafted by members of the Sioux, Navajo, Creek, and Cherokee Tribes and all come with Certificates of Authenticity.

The reason that more people are not aware of the beauty and variety of American Indian Art is simply a lack of stores displaying and merchandising these items.  Other than in the Southwest and Western states, one would seldom see a store or gift shop specializing in Native American gifts.  But now, online shopping on sites such as Grey Wolf Trading Post, anyone can discover and purchase these exceptional works of art, hand-crafted by Native American Indians of the Southwest.

Besides holidays, other special occasions for gift giving include birthdays, the birth of a baby, anniversaries, and housewarmings.  For a birthday, a gift could be selected on the basis of the recipient’s interests such as horses, music, history, etc.  Maybe even a gift that would have a spiritual meaning for him/her.  Because of the variety available, it would be easy to come up with that “just perfect” gift.

American Indian Art can also be given as a housewarming gift.  Most pieces can be used in decorating a home such as sculpture and wall hangings.  The giving of one piece can change the entire atmosphere of a room and would be truly appreciated by the homeowner.

Lastly, many pieces of Native American Art have special meanings attached to them based on the type of material used or the historical use of the items.  This alone makes the gift special for the birth of a baby or the anniversary of loved ones.

So, if you are tired of trying to find that perfect gift for a loved one or a friend, take some time to look at what we have to offer.  Browse our site and explore 17 categories of the best quality pottery, artifacts, and Kachina dolls.  All are hand-crafted in the American Southwest and come with Certificates of Authenticity.  You simply can’t go wrong!

A number of the finest quality, traditional, Native American made craft and decor originates from tribal artisans in the Southwest.  The Navajo Nation is actually the largest reservation within the United States, spread over over 26,000 square miles in northeast Arizona, southeast Utah and northwest New Mexico.  The Navajos rely on the revenue that they obtain through marketing their hand crafted pottery, jewelry, rugs, crafts and artifacts.  Navajo horsehair pottery has become extremely popular with southwestern art enthusiasts because of the extraordinary variations produced by hair taken from the mane or tail of a horse and added onto the pottery’s surface while in the firing process.

Frequently utilized to honor the actual delivery of a foal, as well as the existence of an honored horse, this unique Indian pottery is created much as the name signifies, although it is a somewhat complex as well as at times a dangerous method.   The process for making horsehair pottery is an ancient process, that has been updated for modern kilns, ceramics and pottery.  The items are fired at low temperature (not to surpass 1700 degrees Fahrenheit) and the kiln is shut off and allowed to cool to about 1050 degrees Fahrenheit.  The pieces are taken from the kiln one at a time and strings of horsehair are dropped about the very hot piece.  The horsehair burns off and leaves the distinctive lines.  The smoke from the combusting horsehair additionally results in unique shading on the glaze.  Because of the individual piece at a time method as well as the fact that the horsehair is positioned on each piece manually, no two items will actually be exactly the same.  Feathers and sawdust are also occasionally utilized in this process.

You can click here to  see a variety of beautiful Native American Horsehair Pottery and Horsehair Sculptures created by the Master Navajo Artist, Tom Vail. He and his talented family live in New Mexico.  His pottery is much sought after and every piece comes with a certificate of authenticity that guarantees their Native American origin.  Each of the pieces shown here on our website are example pieces of Tom’s work, and since each piece is carefully handmade and because of the unique character of horse hair pottery, your piece of Navajo pottery will be uniquely different from the ones pictured here.

Great Spirit Buffalo Navajo Kachina doll pictured on the left.

Please don’t think that this “mass producing” of the doll detracts from their collectibility. On the contrary, the Navajo Kachina dolls, embellished with bright colored beads, feathers and clothing are really quite amazing, and the meaning of the symbolism borrowed from the other cultures is fascinating. Affordability is another factor for the collector. By using this production method, the prices are quite low in comparison to the Hopi versions, thus bringing this type of a collectible down to the range that anyone can afford. You can view a collection of more than 50 beautiful Navajo Kachinas by clicking the image or this link – Navajo Kachinas.

Native Americans Indians first made this hatchet-like instrument from stone with a wood handle attached with leather bindings. The word itself stems from an Algonguian word tamahak, which simply meant a tool used for cutting. Often, large animal jawbones as well as horns were used in the making of a tomahawk. The intricately carved stone or bone blade, as well as the wood handle were sometimes decorated with ornate designs and feathers. Eagle feathers were used to denote brave acts in war or in the hunt. The early European settlers became fascinated with this implement and improved it by introducing metal in its fabrication. The first metal ones were made of iron, then came iron with steel welded to the edging, then brass with a steel bit, and lastly, tomahawks made from solid brass. These tomahawks became a useful trade item with the Native Americans. They liked the newer, lighter pieces. The implements were handy and could be used to easily chop large trees for building canoes. The other end of the blade was shaped either as a spike or a hammer head thus further increasing its usefulness. These prized European made trade items remained popular well into the 1800s.

The Native Americans used their tomahawks in many ways. They were useful for chopping, raking, catching, pulling and digging. Not only used for war and hunting, the Indian tomahawks were important in ceremonies and council meetings. In fact, even today we have a term that has been handed down. “Bury the Hatchet.” During war councils, the tribal leader would place a tomahawk on the ground in front of the assembled warriors. After discussion, if he picked up the tomahawk, it meant that war was at hand. If he covered it with soil and thus buried it, war was averted. Native Americans also used the tomahawk to confirm treaties and to establish friendships. Many of the implements had a built in peace pipe to be used for such events. The handle was hollowed out and a smoking bowl was placed on the opposite end of the blade.

However, it is in war that the Native American Indian tomahawk gained its notoriety. It had a usefulness as both a defensive and offensive weapon. The early stone tomahawk was used as an effective war club and could be employed in close quarters or thrown at an enemy from a distance. However, it was the later use of metal bladed tomahawks that brought terror to their enemies and was embellished by Hollywood in movie battle scenes. Scalping a fallen enemy was the process of removing the hair to be kept as a trophy for the warrior’s bravery. Hollywood depicts scalping as being done with a tomahawk, when in reality, after felling his opponent with the instrument, it was much easier and quicker to remove the trophy hair with his knife. One of the other uses of the tomahawk before or during war was to attach medicine bundles to help bring in the supernatural realm to assist in battle victories.

Today, apart from historical and social context, the Native American Tomahawk continues to be an object of allure. Not as a weapon, but as a unique conversation piece or a beautiful decorative wall hanging. Native American craftsmen produce tomahawks as wonderful pieces of art embellished with leather wrappings, designs on the blades or stone, feathers, fur, horsehair, beads and buckskin. Now, collectors or those who love to decorate with southwest or western themes, can obtain beautiful pieces for themselves. So, check out our site. We do have a wonderful selection of Native American Indian Tomahawks and Hatchets, including those with blades made of stone, jawbones, iron and brass. Artist include members of the Navajo and Creek Indian Tribes. A Certificate of Authenticity is included with each piece.  To view our selections, just click here.

Our selection of artifacts include Arrows, Quivers and Bows.  All are handmade, intricately decorated in feathers, beads, leather, fringes, etc.  We have a large variety of working Pipes ranging from tiny Mini-Pipes to elaborate Ceremonial Pipes beautifully crafted and decorated.  You can find wonderfully crafted Ceremonial Rattles by the Navajo, Cherokee, and Creek Indians.  There is also a large selection of Medicine Bags and Pouches, as well as Handbags fashioned by artists from the Cherokee, Navajo and Yaqui cultures.

Other artifact categories include Lances, Ceremonial Shields, Trail Markers, Dance Sticks, Prayer Fans, Hatchets and Tomahawks, Drums, Flutes, Knives, and miscellaneous items such as Cradle-boards, Dream-catchers, Coup Sticks, Medicine Wheels, etc.

Grey Wolf Trading Post also has a separate section for Navajo Kachina Dolls and another section for Horsehair Pottery.  The Kachinas, beautifully fashioned in bright colored feathers, fabric, and beads, are great collectible pieces.  All of our Horsehair Pottery is handcrafted by Master Potters in Arizona and New Mexico and comes with Certificates of Authenticity.

So, take time to browse our site and come back often as we are constantly adding new items.  Just click on any of the categories to the left or any of the major section images below.

We are confident that you will find our selection of Native American Artifacts, Navajo Kachinas, and Horsehair Pottery to be of the highest quality and exceptional examples of Native American Culture and Artistry, and a welcome addition to your collection.

Browse our site to view exciting Native American Artifacts – Bows, Arrows, Quivers, Lances, Pipes, Tomahawks, Flutes, Drums, and much, much more.

Click on the image to go to the first page of the Artifact Section.

A large selection of Native American Horsehair Pottery is now available.  Many of these pieces were created by Master Artist, Tom Vail and his extremely talented family.

Just click on the image to enter our Horsehair Pottery Section.

Browse a large selection of Navajo Kachina Dolls and add to your collection.

Click on the image to enter the Navajo Kachina Section.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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