What do crows mean to the Native Americans?

Crows hold a special significance in Native American culture and spirituality. Across many Native American tribes, crows are seen as creatures of power that are closely associated with life, death, and transformation. Crows have the ability to shapeshift and their intelligence means they are frequently portrayed as tricksters in Native American folklore. As scavengers, crows are seen as the cleansers of the land and their presence around death links them to helping guide souls to the afterlife. For many tribes, crows also act as messengers between worlds who can access hidden knowledge and travel between supernatural realms. Due to their importance, crows appear in Native American rituals, stories, art, and ceremonies.

Why were crows significant to Native Americans?

There are several key reasons why crows held such an important place in Native American culture:

Crows as symbols of life, death, and renewal

Crows have long lifespans for birds and appear in both winter and summer. This cemented their association with life, death, and rebirth in the cycle of the seasons. Crows are seen as bridging life and death, connecting the material and spiritual worlds. Their presence at scenes of death and around graveyards reinforced their role as psychopomps guiding the dead to the afterlife.

Crows as intelligent tricksters

Crows display great intelligence for birds. Their problem-solving abilities, playfulness, vocalizations, and tendency to steal shiny objects imbued them with a trickster persona in Native folktales. The trickster crow is a complex character that can serve as a hero, villain, or teacher. Crows use their wits to deceive others and expose truths.

Crows as messengers and shape-shifters

Some tribes saw crows as messengers who moved between the world of the living and spirit realm. Crows could access secret knowledge and deliver prophecy as mediators between supernatural worlds. Crows were believed capable of shapeshifting, taking both human and animal form. This shape-shifting reinforces their liminal role.

Crows as cleansers of the land

As scavengers, crows consume carrion and dispose of rotting flesh. Many tribes thus associated crows with cleaning the Earth by removing decay. Their consumption of dead bodies aided the release of spirits to the afterlife. Crows purified the land through their scavenging, linked to rebirth.

Notable Native American crow myths and folklore

Crows feature prominently in the mythology and oral traditions of many Native American tribes. Here are some notable examples:

Raven the Creator (Northwest Coast tribes)

The Raven creator deity of the Pacific Northwest transforms the primordial world into its current form and brings mankind various cultural gifts. Raven has both trickster and cultural hero aspects as a demiurge figure.

Iktomi the Spider-Trickster (Lakota and Plains tribes)

In Lakota mythology, Iktomi frequently appears in crow form. Iktomi is a trickster dual-faced spider spirit who can both help and deceive humankind. Stories of Iktomi teach moral lessons.

Crow the Trickster (Plains tribes)

Crow plays the classic trickster role in Plains Indian lore, employing cunning schemes that are sometimes benevolent and sometimes self-serving or malicious. The resourceful Crow gets humans into trouble.

The Crows Win Meat From Buffalo (Cheyenne)

A folktale tells of how two cunning crows outwit a boastful buffalo who promises them meat after they vanquish enemies for him. The crows trick Buffalo into killing his own calf to feed them.

Seven Crows (Northeastern tribes)

The Lenape and other Northeastern tribes tell of seven crows, sometimes representing the seven directions. In some versions the crows are spirits, in others the sons of a boy transformed into a crow. Each crow possesses different color feathers and skills.

Crow symbolism in Native American rituals and tradition

Beyond oral traditions, crows assume symbolic ritualistic roles in many Native American spiritual practices:

Crow medicine

Crow is considered a medicine animal by many tribes. Native American medicine emphasizes learning from animal powers. Crow medicine represents insight, opportunity, destiny, and good fortune. Crow guides magic and healing rituals.

Crow feathers in costumes and ceremonial dress

Crow feathers are worn by Native American ceremonial dancers and incorporated into ritual costumes. Crow feathers signify spiritual wisdom and connection. Chiefs may wear crow feathers in ceremonial headdresses.

Crow totems and taboos

In some tribes crow serves as a protective clan totem. Tribes with crow clans include the Chippewa and Hopi. Killing or harming crows is forbidden in tribes with crow totems.

Crow messenger andoracle

Some tribes saw crows as delivering prophecies, blessings, and warnings. Crows carried messages from the spirit world and could forecast the future. Crows served as oracles for all Indians.

The crow in Native American art and culture

Crows are an enduring theme in Native American art, literature, and handicrafts:

Crow art

Crows were depicted on totem poles, sandpaintings, petroglyphs, beadwork, and pottery of many tribes. Today the crow remains a popular theme in modern Native American art across mediums.

Crow legends in Native American literature

Native American stories and legends prominently featuring crows have been recorded in the written literature of the past centuries. Crows appear in tales collected in books of folklore.

Crow symbols carvedin stone and wood

Many tribes carved the likeness of crows into ceremonial stone and wood objects. Crow motifs symbolized protection, wisdom, and foresight.

Crow calls used inmusic rituals

Some tribal ceremonies imitated the cries of crows through vocalizations, flutes, and drums. Crow sounds summoned spiritual aid. The Hopi still incorporate crow calls into their music.

The varied roles of the crow in Native American culture

The crow adapts to many diverse roles across Native American mythology and culture:

Crows in modern Native American life and culture

Though many Native Americans now practice Christianity, crows still maintain spiritual significance in modern Native life:

Crow language in tribal place names

Many tribes continue using traditional names referencing crows for tribal lands, rivers, towns, and geographic features.

Crows in oral tradition preservation

Native American scholars and oral historians work to preserve ancient stories featuring crows through publications and recordings.

Crows in cultural revival

Some tribes are reviving traditional dance regalia incorporating crow feathers, as well as traditional rituals calling the crow spirit.

Crow art develops new styles

Contemporary Native American artists paint crows in new styles while maintaining their symbolic power. Some crow art mixes traditional and modern themes.

Crows still studied by anthropologists

Native American culture scholars continue researching the historical and ongoing significance of crows for indigenous groups.

Conclusion

For Native American cultures, crows symbolize far more than just another bird species. Crows embody primal spiritual forces central to Native American beliefs about life, death, and the soul. Crows transcend boundaries, moving between worlds. They access hidden truths unavailable to ordinary humans. Across tribal traditions, crows illuminate the path of wisdom, healing, prophecy, and cleansing. With their intelligence, charm, and wiles, crows teach humans about the profound truths obscured behind the illusions of the material world. But crows retain an air of mystery as well. Their ambiguous nature as both tricksters and helpers means one never knows a crow’s true motivations or whether its gifts come with a cost. For the Native Americans, the crow stands as the consummate mediator between everyday reality and the Great Mystery beyond.