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Sioux War Shield
(#FCSHIE189)
This shield, 23
inches in diameter, is a splendid Sioux shield dating from about 1860.
The central feature is a
horned thunderbird separating the star-studded night sky below from the
day sky above. A rainbow arches across the
top of the shield's edge. The symbolism of the thunderbird evokes the
strikes of lightning so important to shattering the
enemy. The two skies and the rainbow draw upon the power of the
thunderbird to change the bright day into a dark storm
and to turn a sky full of hail and lightning into peaceful calm. In
other words, the painting calls upon bullets and arrows
to be rendered harmless by altering them into the opposite of their
present form. The central pendant is a personal
medicine of eagle feathers and horse hair that asks those animals to
help the shield bearer with their special abilities.
From the front, only the shield cover of buckskin is visible. Although
normally the cover (or covers) can be removed to
reveal a shield with different power symbols and decorations, this cover
is securely tied to the shield. It would
be nice to know what the shield itself looks like.
Illustrated in
Spirits in the Art, by James A.
Hanson pg 189.
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