I was reading about the Apache Trail earlier today and was surprised to see that an old road sign for it featured a swastika in an indian arrowhead. Apparently this was the standard design for an Arizona highway sign until the symbol was bastardized in Europe.
Native American tribes who had used it extensively in their artwork got together to renounce it's use due to the newly recognized negative connotation.
Apparently there are numerous instances of art and architecture where it remains from pre-1930s construction, including AZ Dept of Agriculture building at 1st and Adams.
I've sold dozens of pieces of jewelry, textiles, pottery, baskets and cowboy stuff with Wheels of Life or as the Navajo call it Nohokos. It appears also on Hohokam pottery, so no European contact there and in Japan it will be on the front of the Buddhist temples. The Hopi have it as there creation symbol also.
At one time if you wanted to have the stereotypical Indian symbol, it was the swastika..think Kokopelli of the early 1900's.
A Navajo textile we have now..
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Just above and right of your head in this 