Southwestern cultures emphasize unity, beauty, harmony and balance---ideals all reflected in their art.

Southwest Native societies have complicated social structures. Tribes such as the Navajo, Hopi and Zuni include many divisions----by clan, gender and ceremonial society, for example----but these groups overlap one another, creating a complex web of relationships. Many rituals and traditions further unite these divisions.

The cultural ideal of balance and harmony is reflected in the colors, patterns, symbols and images in art----and in the process by which art is made. Because beauty cannot be separated from the larger ideal of harmony in the universe, creating art is a central part of a spiritually healthful life. Making art thus serves the same purpose as the sacred rituals it often depicts: to create balance in the individual, the community and the natural world.

Community Life on the Northwest Coast

In Northwest Coast Native societies, each extended family--or house group--strives to assert and

maintain its historic status and ceremonial privileges. Toward this end, many people display crests--images of animal spirits such as wolves or killer whales. Crests, displayed on objects such as totem poles, blankets or jewelry, proclaim the proud history of the house group and its connections to the supernatural world.

Dances, songs and dramatizations of ancient stories also link people with the spirit world and inspire the creation of spectacular masks and costumes. Although social and economic pressures that followed European contact once seriously threatened these traditions, Native people have renewed their interest in ceremonial life, and in creating and displaying crest art.