Focusing on Native Americans, this is part of a series which explores the signs and symbols of different cultures and civilizations from Ancient Egypt to the present day. The traditions and folk-memories of the native inhabitants of North America are as rich in symbolism as any body of religion and legend in the world. In spite of terrible sufferings, these people have drawn sustenance from complex and subtle myths, rituals and imagery. In this introduction to their symbolic thought and art, the principal icons and ceremonies of the major native peoples are illustrated and explained - from the dances of the Plains Lakota to the intricate design and geometry of Navajo sandpainting, from the medicine pipe of the Blackfoot to the totem poles of the Northwest Coast, from animal spirits to shamanistic rituals.