Native American / Indian Bear Symbol?

Question

I am very interested in the Native American history and culture. I have read up alot on it. I am saddened by what happened to the Native Americans when the white settlers came to America.

I am most fascinated with Spirit Guides and Totems. I understand (correct me if I am wrong) that Native Americans believe that their Spirit Guides and Totems are animals.

I have bought alot of Vintage Native American Jewlery because I believe it holds a certain "spirituality" within it. While wearing the jewlery I have asked that my Spirit Guide be made known to me. A week later, I found a small silver dream catcher charm with a clear yellow stone bear in the center, and a single silver feather hanging down.

I left the charm in the lost and found where I work, and in two months no one had claimed it, so I have taken it. Could this "my answer"? Could the Bear be my Spirit Guide? or my Totem? Does the single feather mean anything?

Answer 1

When the student is ready, the teacher shall appear.
The feather may represent the first step in your journey, but more likely it is just a passenger of your totem.

Answer 2

Beaver & White Raven, Bothe are correct. Now, You know that I'm an Aussie,the same as you are, but on matters of the Spirit, I can answer with a fair degree of knowledge & certainty. The Eagle IS Indeed a very powerful symbol of The Great Spirit. But,, it really depends on how it was recieved, what it did,& how close to you it was. "Great Spirit" symbols can be equally as bad as good.(though generally,the eagle is a good sign.) Eg. Very Close to you is a Strong Sign. Excepting for Christ appearing to you, you can't get much stronger a good sign! If the eagle soared high in the sky & got further away from you, that 'could' mean a loss of power or connection to the Great Spirit. In that case, it 'could' be telling you to altar your life to get it to come nearer. But Hey! .... I'm an Aussie! What do I know? ... The Eagle is also a strong symbol in 'Australian' beliefs too! (No, I don't mean West Coast Eagles!! ) ... Soo, What 'type' of eagle was it? If it was a Bald Eagle (ie White head ), then it was American & a symbol of the Great Spirit. But,, If it was a Wedge Tailed Eagle, that means it was Australian!! If it was an Aussie Eagle, you might have to look at aboriginal folklore. More likely though, it represented You, yourself. ........ Drums are used all over the world, but you describe American Indian drums. These are used for a variety of purposes including Rituals to summon the Great Spirit. Your Native American Totem & connection to the Great Spirit is the Bear. That is what you summoned. In a more practical sense, it is highly unlikely that you will ever be harmed by eithe r an Eagle or a Bear if you come into contact with either. Your dream,,, Was NOT a dream! It WAS a Connection. ..... As you are Not a Native American, such an invitation is considered to be rare, & an honour! You have a duty now to find out about it, & learn if it is connected to one tribe or Indian Nation. .... The Old Man seems to be a 'spirit' inviting you to join them. .... But I'm an Aussie! What do I know??

Answer 3

okay...this sounds like New Age stuff...BUT, I can answer your question a bit as a Navajo Indian.

In some instances, Navajos do take on these animal persona for protection and healing. BUT, we do not continue to live with that persona as a Spirit Guide or Totem. Humans are not animals, and should not live like animals. We respect each other, but we do not associate with each other. Sometimes, animals such as the coyote and owl give us messages/"signs". In a prayer or offering, we acknowledge their message.

In some ceremonies, a Navajo patient is cured of a negative use of some, for a lack of a better word, animal "power". Or, that animal "power" is realigned upon the user of that "power". BUT, we do not become that animal. To do so, it would result in the person being an outcast in society. As such, thru ceremony, this person is fixed.

Navajos don't believe in dream catchers. And to dream about bear(s), it could be a bad sign to be determined by a diagnostician. Depending on the type of feather, you will find some significance with it.

Some Navajos believe bad people purposely leave objects laying around for passer-bys to pick-up. In the process, this possibly negatively-"charmed" object adversely effects this pass-by. So, watch out for what you find laying around. Personally, I never pick up anything laying around out of the ordinary.

Answer 4

The idea of a spirit guide is one that calls to you as you call to it. If you feel a connection with the bear as a totem and with the bear as a creature and you feel that this helps your inner spirit then go for it.

As far as the feather, I believe that the feather is the part of a dream catcher that is supposed to trap or brush away or scare away bad dreams.

Answer 5

I am glad you found some nice jewelry but that's all you found. If you want to have the advantages of native spirituality, it comes from being part of a native community. You can't just lump all our many different beliefs together and pick and choose what you like. That's just "shopping at the mall" for your religion. How disrespectful? Even if you like native spirituality, first and foremost you are trying to take something from others without understanding anything at all. If you want to participate in native spirituality, then be part of a native community.

If anyone charges you for native spiritual advice, they are shamans -- they sell our culture and are often not even native! But they sure make a bunch of money off of spiritually hungry people. Real medicine people don't charge. Sorry this might sound rude to you, but if you want the REAL thing, it comes by being in relationship with REAL people -- your friendly native american neighbors....

Answer 6

Bear :Strength, Introspection, Healing, Self-Knowlege As far as your totem, u answer that one. There are many ways of seeking your animal totems, Be happy to send u more information. The feather meaning I would need to know which type of bird it came from.All feathers relate to human spirit and its connection to the divine. Honor your feather by meditating upon it and breathing on it, this activates the life force of air.
hope this helps ~~endon~~

Answer 7

Usually to find your spirit guide you do what is called shamanic journeying, which is a process too long to describe in here, and it depends on which people's path you follow to do it. There are lots of books out on it, so you can do some research, however once your guide shows itself (or him-/herself since not ALL guides are animals) to you, you keep it to yourself, because it's believed that they can leave you if you go bragging around on them.

Hope this helps some.

_()_

Answer 8

I'm not sure about your question, but I do have a comment. You need to watch your sources on you endeavor to learn about Native Americans. I took two college courses on Native American history, in hopes of learning more than I could from a book. The professors were Native American. MISTAKE!!! All it was about is how horrible white people are. Both courses. I was pissed. I finally told one professor exactly what I thought. I never did anything to bring harm to an American Indian. Neither did my direct ancestors. They were a great people. Their history is fascinating if it is history, not whining. It is too bad that they didn't keep written history (for the most part). All we have to go on is more or less what happened after European colonization. All that both professors seemed to want was to bash on Euro-Americans and feel sorry for themselves.

Answer 9

To which N/A nation do you refer?
Not all of them believe the same things.

Bear could be one of your totems. Only you can answer that, though.
If you need more assistance, feel free to contact me through my profile.
Many blessings on your path,
Kallan

Answer 10

i had a dream of 2 bears one was the mother grizzly she had died her cub was orphaned i picked up the baby bear and raised it until was full grown i followed me every were then bad men came and tried to take the bear and i stood like a oak tree to protect my bear what does this dream meen