Horses

Horses were painted for battle, buffalo hunting and celebrations of victorious battles and successful horse raids or hunts. It was not only a sacred ritual, but a means of creative and artistic expression. Fearsome warriors and their mighty warhorses in brilliant splashes of color were spectacular sights to behold and some U.S. soldiers of the Indian Wars wrote in their journals of the pomp and color that bedecked the enemy warriors and their mounts on the battlefield.

There are few archival photographs capturing Native Americans on their painted war horses. But Native ledgers of battles have documented warriors and their battle mounts in full regalia.

WHITE was the color of peace, prosperity, safety. But it could also mean mourning. Made from gypsum, limestone, clay, eggshells or seashells. Pawnee painted their faces white to acquire the hunting power of the wolf and sometimes painted their horses’ faces, too, for protection and survival in battle.

GREEN, not surprisingly, was the color of nature, of harmony, of survival, and healing. Made from moss, flowers, berries, algae, or copper ore.

BLUE was associated with the sky and water, and evoked wisdom and confidence, hope. It was created often from duck manure, but also sunflower seeds, flowers, or oxides.

YELLOW had different meanings. It could mean death and that the warrior was willing to fight to the death. It also symbolized intelligence, a strong heart and that the warrior lived a good life. In the Southwest, yellow was created from the Bixa shrub near Mexico. Plains Indians used buffalo gallstones to produce yellow.

PURPLE was associated with magic, mystery, and spiritual power and was not generally used for battle, but by shaman and medicine men and women for spiritual ceremonies. Blueberries, coneflowers, and wild hibiscus were used for purple pigments.

Very early on, native tribes began to trade with fur traders and valued certain pigments that they could provide. The Osage Omaha, Ponca, and Quapaw traded in the mid-1600s near St. Louis for Chinese vermilion, a very bright mercury sulfide paint.

Paint was power and the act of painting a war horse was a sacred act, like a prayer to the creator or a behest to nature to unify strength and spirit and galvanize horse and warrior as one in battle. It was a prayer for survival too.