American Indian Quotes

• Bird Clan - Their color is Purple, and their wood is Maple
• Blue Clan -Their color is Blue and their wood is Ash
• Deer Clan - Their color is Brown and their wood is Oak
• Paint Clan - Their color is White, and their wood is Locust
• Twister Clan - Their color is Yellow and their wood is Beech
• Wild Potato Clan - Their color is Green and their wood is Birch
• Wolf Clan - Their color is Red and their wood is Hickory

• Bird Clan, they were messengers and also very skilled in using blowguns for bird hunting. Eagle feathers were presented by them to other members of the tribe because they were only ones able to collect them. They were the keepers of the birds.

• Blue Clan, this clan were keepers of childrens medicines and of medicinal herbs. They were named after a plant called a blue holly, which they used for medicine. This Clan has also been known as the Wild Cat Clan or Panther. They were known as a peace clan.

• Deer Clan, they were fast runners and delivered messenges from village to village, or person to person and were excellent hunters and trackers. They were known as a peace clan.

• Paint Clan, they were the smallest and most secretive clan, and the only ones that were allowed to make a special red paint and dye that are used for ceremonial purposes and war.

• Twister Clan also known as Long Hair Clan It is said that those belonging to this clan wore their hair twisted or in braided hairdos. The peace chiefs usually came from this clan and wore a white feather robe. Their members were teachers and keepers of tradition.

• Wild Potato Clan were farmers and gatherers of wild potato plants. They used them to make flour for bread. They were keepers and protectors of the earth. Also known as the Raccoon or Clan Bear Clan.

• Wolf Clan is the most prominent clan, providing most of the war chiefs, and warriors. They were the protectors of the people and were known as a warrior clan.

• Colors were associated with the four directions.
• Blue represented North which meant cold, defeat and trouble.
• White was South representing warmth, peace and happiness.
• Red was East, the color of the Sacred Fire, blood,and success.
• West was black the color meaning problems and death.
• Other colors also had special meanings.
• Brown was good but yellow meant trouble and strife.

• The circle was also a basic symbol for the Cherokees.
• The council houses were circular and the fire inside was built so that the fire would burn in a circular path.
• The stomp dance and other ceremonies were performed in a circular pattern.

The seven-pointed black star was added to memorialize the many Cherokees that died on the Trail of Tears.

• 1808 The first written laws by an Indian tribe.
• 1822 The first Indian alphabet written by Sequoyah.
• 1824 First written law of Western Cherokees.
• 1827 First written constitution among Indian tribes.
• 1828 The Cherokee Phoenix was the first newspaper and the only bilingual newspaper.
• 1844 The Cherokee Advocate becomes the first newspaper in Indian territory.
• 1957 First Cherokee National Holiday.
• Stand Watie was the only Indian to become a General in the Confederate Army.
• The first and only Indian tribe with two representatives (Sequoyah and Will Rogers) in the National Statuary Hall in the Nation's Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.
• First Masonic Lodge in Oklahoma.

Legend of the Rose Rock A Cherokee Legend Photo Copyright 2003

There was once a young Indian maiden who lived with her tribe in central Oklahoma.The young maiden was always cheerful and singing and was much loved by the people of her tribe. Then one night she became very ill. The medicine man could do nothing to make her well. When she died the tribe was so grief stricken that they built huge altars made of small sandstone rocks as an offering to the Great Spirit.

After several days the Great Spirit spoke and the sound of his voice turned the little red sandstone rocks into roses, an eternal symbol of the young maiden's spirit.

Another version of this legend says that the rose rocks represent the blood of the braves and the tears of the maidens who traveled the Trail Of Tears.

The rose rock is Oklahoma's State Rock. Rose rocks are actually barite rock crystals and are found in central Oklahoma. They say you can find them laying on the ground but I didn't, I bought the two pictured above in Oklahoma City.

Cherokee Blessing May the warm winds of Heaven blow softly on your home, And the Great Spirit bless all who enter there.

In 1915 he completed The End of the Trail, a dejected Indian sitting on a horse. Seneca Chief John Big Tree was the model for the figure, which symbolizes the fate of the American Indians.

Indian City is on the site of the massacre of the Tonkawa Indians by a band of Shawnees and other mercenaries during the Civil War. The 200 acre tract, is a small portion of the Kiowa, Apache, and Comanche Reservations established by the Federal Government in Oklahoma.

The village tour features seven authentic villages and lasts about 30 to 45 minutes. (Navajo, Chiricahua Apache, Wichita, Kiowa Winter Camp, Caddo, Pawnee, and Pueblo) Indian guides describe the customs and beliefs of each tribe which is a real treat if you are interested in the way the indians used to live.