Colors and art have always played an important role in the traditional Native American worldview. The wise Natives used art and colors for aesthetic pleasure – there was no concept or even word for art in their languages. This indicates that art and colors were never considered separate from the other aspects of daily life. To explain simply: colors represented the Natives Americans’ practical, social, and spiritual aspects of life.

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Colors helped tribes celebrate their ancient traditions and rich heritage. Their symbolism was especially important in shamanism – the traditional medicine or healing rituals used by the people, and also in a war where warriors painted their faces in different color paints. As there were numerous tribes dispersed across North America, there were also different symbolic color meanings. Colors retained these traditional meanings even during the time of contact between the Natives and the British Colonists.