This stately stagg was carved by Todd Etsate from jasper. It has Mother of Pearl antlers and turquoise eyes. More about deer below.

Size: 1.5" H x 1.675" L x .75" W

Deer are sacred to some Native Americans. Like the buffalo, they provide food, skins for clothing and pouches, hooves for rattles, antlers for weapons and art. There are deer dances in Northern Mexico and the Southwest where the spirit of the deer enters into the bodies of the men who have been prepared to accept the deer. When the men dance, they are no longer men. They are deer.

Traditionally, Zuni carvings are symbolically fed cornmeal. Each Zuni fetish comes in a box with a descriptive card and a tiny bit of corn meal to tide them over until they reach you.