Unbroken: Indigenous Peoples Today

The Meaning Behind Native American Eagle Feathers and Headdresses

"Any time you see someone with the single feathers, like these ones here on top of my head, females or males, those mean accomplishments. So whether you graduated high school, you've had a child, you adopted someone, you went to war, these are accomplishments. So when you see someone with a full out war bonnet and it goes all the way down, they're supposed to each tell a story. When a war bonnet is made, they all sit down, whoever is with you, and you tell a story for every single feather. Every single one. And then you put it together.

"The eagle feather means so much, that when an eagle feather falls on the ground we look at it as like a soldier falling. A soldier in battle, so you have to honor it. And you see it at pow wows, no one ever records it because you're not allowed to, but when you witness it you'll see that person give the feather away, because, that means the Creator said it doesn't want to be with you. There's a reason why the feather fell off of you. There's a reason why stuff goes undone. It's kind of superstitious in a way.

"You never buy an eagle feather. Every eagle feather that's worn by most Native American people, it was either given to them or traded. That's the only way you can get an eagle feather. If you do things the wrong way and you try to skip steps, they say it's like 'bad juju.' Bad things will happen to you because you're not doing it the right way. If you found one then that means something. That means the Creator put it there for you to find it. There was a reason why you found it."

- Miniconjou Lakota Warrior and Traditional Dancer, Nick Ohitika Najin

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