Native American shields are divided into two categories: war shields and medicine shields.
The Medicine Shield
In addition to war shields, Native American warriors also carried spiritual shields, often attached to the side of their horse in battle. These were designed to protect the warrior in the spiritual realm. They believed these shields had supernatural protective power.
Medicine shields were commonly made from animal skins stretched over a wooden hoop. The pictures and symbols painted on the shield were derived from conversations with a Shaman after their vision quest. So, each warrior had a unique medicine shield that was sacred and personal to them. As the warrior grew in stature and as their experiences grew, objects would be added to the shield.
They trusted this creation as spiritual protection in a physical battle.
The War Shield
As the name implies, this type of shield was used to protect the warrior physically from arrows and other objects.
These shields were about two feet in diameter and were highly decorated. The small size allowed them to be easily carried while riding horseback and could be moved rapidly with arm movements to deflect arrows instead of just blocking them.
The war shield had to be much stronger than the medicine shield. They were made from multiple layers of animal skin, usually from a bison, which were glued together.
At Southwest Arts and Design we have a large selection of decorative, wall hung Native American style shields for the wholesale distributor.