Native Americans

Native American creativity is boundless and sacred. Artistic expression has been a way to worship the gods. Art for art's sake is not part of the Indian psyche. Their artistic designs have beauty and care motivated by their love for nature. Sacred beliefs of American Indians hold that everything living or inanimate shares a place in the universe, and that no one thing is above the other. They were the first ecologically aware people anywhere, long before pollution became a serious and popular issue. Native Americans were also the first to create implements with beauty, and each native art object they made had a specific purpose. Animals they killed were for clothing, tools and food, never for sport. A natural beauty and obvious appreciation for nature permeates their Indian pottery, paintings, baskets, leather work, sand paintings, crafts, moccasins and wood carving. Native Americans created many shapes and geometric designs for their art and these were repeated and became representative symbols that transcended tribal language barriers. Native art designs became a language in themselves, a form of communication. The harmony and oneness sensed in their art is real, and it provides serenity to those who experience it. Native people documented their own histories and cultures using a variety of visual media. Ledger drawings was a common way for native peoples to record and commemorate their history.

The great varieties of beautiful and innovative art works in all Native American art traditions span many centuries and various internal and external pressures. The development of the Native American art of painting, carving, and basket-making differed depending on the environment and type of subsistence of each Indian tribe. Hunting tribes such as the Apache and Sioux did not stay in one place long enough to develop elaborate methods and Native