Puzzle Description:

Thunderbird, bear claw, mountain range, and cross. To find out what these symbols mean, see the comments.

#1: Teresa K (fasstar) on May 3, 2009 [SPOILER]

The thunderbird signifies a good omen.

The bear claw track is another good omen

The mountain range symbolizes abundance.

The cross signifies two people's paths crossing.

I like the meaning for the cross, especially!

Again brava for your efforts.

Thanks. My interest in Native American culture is two-fold. First, my adopted son John is Lakota Sioux and I try to expose him to his genetic cultural ancestry. Second, my job as a trainer in the field of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders leads me to frequently work on reservations in the U.S. and reserves in Canada, and I like to learn more about the culture of the communities I visit.

Each tribe is different and each community within the tribe or nation is unique. However, the issues surrounding FASD are the same wherever I go, lots of misunderstandings and lack of information about the cause and the cure.

[Everyone steps aside while Teresa gets on her soap box.]

Just so people don't think it's a problem that only occurs with Native Americans or in lower socioeconomic groups or minorities, I will share what research shows: The groups of women most likely to drink during pregnancy include the following: White women, women with a college degree, and women in a household with income over $75,000.

[Teresa gets off her soap box and walks away while people shake their heads in disbelief.]

Awesome puzzle! I love the way it's the four symbols so it's almost like four mini puzzles, except they're interlinking. Appropriate brain strain, but without getting frustrating. Nice use of white space. Very fun to solve!

Cheers :)

Thanks, Kylie. I hope you enjoy this series.

excellent. another appropriately challenging puzzle - not too hard, fun to do, and interesting.

I really enjoyed solving the mountain range.

Thank you, Teresa. I grew up close to the Pine Ridge Sioux reservation, and saw the problem first hand, every night almost, with (mostly) the men, who had their way of life taken away and just enough government reparation to spend at the local bars. I was just a kid, so it took a while for me to understand the whole story, but it's one of the saddest and most frustrating things I've seen.

Teresa, I'll carry your soap box wherever you want to talk about this. Good puzzle.

I'm with you, Cathy.

Goto next topic

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