Tradition

How Native Americans Communicated

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What are Pictographs
How Native Americans Communicated
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Native Americans, especially those from the Great Plains, used pictographs not only to communicate amongst each other but also to document history from their tribes. They also used pictographs to draw symbols that came to them in dreams onto their shields. Native Americans even painted what is referred to as “the night the stars fell” (Leonid Meteor Storm) which was seen as a big deal in their culture, as they thought the world was coming to an end.

Dilg, Cami Ann. “The Past That Was Differs Little from the Past That Was Not: Pictographs and Petroglyphs in Cormac McCarthys Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West .” Digital Commons, 2017

"With the speed and density of a driving rain, stars were falling in the universe. Some were brighter than Venus; one was said to be as large as the moon"
~ Al Momaday

​​​​​​​In addition, Native Americans also painted their accomplishments from their battles, stories full of action, and wars they were involved in. ​​​​​​​

Eastman, Seth. “Manabosho's Devices.” Digital Public Library of America

A Native American story made from pictographs.