Some Pacific Northwest Native American women identify three primary stages in life: birth, finding a guardian spirit, and death. The tradition of finding one’s spirit is a rite that forms a common bond within the community, while simultaneously defining an individual’s personal identity.
Some Pacific Northwest Native American women identify three primary stages in life: birth, finding a guardian spirit, and death. The tradition of finding one’s spirit is a rite that forms a common bond within the community, while simultaneously defining an individual’s personal identity. This woman with a buffalo or American bison guardian spirit gave a woman she can cross different areas and functions.
Attached to this traditional weaving is an applique showing a jovial Calavera, a decorated Día de Muertos skull. She is surrounded by an infinity of colorful flowers that demarcate the threshold between life and death. She is free to move between these worlds as easily as the birds whose feathers adorn her. The feathers are gathered from birds flying around Portland.
