Native American Talking Stick

1
Native American Talking Stick

• The Native American Talking Stick was used by
  councils to keep order and allow everyone time to
  present their Sacred Point of View
• Colors on the stick had meaning
• Red for life
• Yellow for knowledge
• Blue for prayer and wisdom
• White for spirit
• Purple for healing
• Orange for kinship
• Black for clarity or focus

2
Ornamentation on the talking stick

• The tree from which it was made was important
• Birch for truth
• White Pine for peace
• Cedar for cleansing
• Aspen for seeing clearly
• Elm for wisdom
• Mountain Ash for protection
• Cherry for love or strong emotion
• Oak for strength
• Maple for gentleness

3
Ornamentation for Talking Sticks

• Feathers had special meaning
• Eagle for high ideals viewed from the eagles
  eye
• Owl for stopping deception from entering the
  sacred space of the council
• Skins used on the stick had meaning
• Elk for physical fitness
• Deer for gentleness
• Rabbit for listening abilities
• Horse hair for perseverance
• Wrapping a snake skin around the stick prevented
  illnesses of the mind and spirit to adversely
  affect the council

4
Meaning of the Talking Stick

• Each chief would make his unique stick from the
  particular tree, skin, and colors depending what
  his council would be discussing.
• The stick was passed to each person who wanted to
  speak on the issue.
• Try using the talking stick during this unit
  for speaking privileges.

5
Making a Talking Stick (optional)

• Native AmericanTalking StickUse a talking stick
  to keep order in your group meeting. 
• The talking stick was used by Native Americans to
  show who had the right to speak. The chief would
  hold the talking stick and begin the discussion,
  We would pass the talking stick to the next
  speaker. Only the individual holding the stick
  could speak.

6
Making a Talking Stick

• You Need
• Stick
• 1 Yard Suede Cord
• One Yellow Pony Bead symbolizes sunrise (The
  East)One Red Pony Bead symbolizes sunset  (The
  West)One White Pony Bead symbolizes snow (The
  North)One Green Pony Bead symbolizes grass (The
  South)
• 1" Strip of Faux Fur as a reminder to speak
  softly

7
Making a Talking Stick

• Feather as a reminder to be wise as an eagle
• Bear Claw Bead as a reminder to be strong like
  bear
• Tacky Glue
• Scissors
• Instructions
• Cut a 1" x 6" strip of faux fur. Wrap it around
  the end of a stick gluing in place. Wrap the
  bottom with a piece of suede cord to secure.
  Trim. On the other end, wrap another piece of
  suede cord securing one end and leaving the other
  end dangling. Tie on a bear claw bead. Slide on
  the pony beads. Dab the end of a feather in glue
  and push it up into the bottom pony bead.

Courtesy of Making Friends.com