File:Pending permission from pueblo.svg
The Zia sun symbol is featured on the New Mexico flag.

The Zia sun symbol is a solar symbol originating in Zia Pueblo.

Significance

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The Zia regard the Sun as sacred. A red circle with groups of rays pointing in four directions is painted on ceremonial vases, drawn on the ground around campfires, and used to introduce newborns to the Sun.

Symmetry

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Four is the sacred number of the Zia and can be found repeated in the four points radiating from the circle. The number four is embodied in:

  • the four points of the compass (north, south, east, and west)
  • the four seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter)
  • the four periods of each day (morning, noon, evening, and night)
  • the four seasons of life (childhood, youth, middle years, and old age)
  • the four sacred obligations one must develop (a strong body, a clear mind, a pure spirit, and a devotion to the welfare of others), according to Zia belief

History

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TODO: cite chain of expropriation... pueblo pottery[1] ==> School for Advanced Research ==> Harry P. Mera and Reba Mera

[2]

Contemporary use

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New Mexico

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The symbol is representative of the much broader Puebloan, affiliated Hispano communities, and New Mexican culture, for example it is featured on the flag of New Mexico, in the design of the New Mexico State Capitol, on New Mexico's State Quarter entry, numerous city flags including Albuquerque and Roswell, and the state highway marker.

Wisconsin

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The symbol was featured on the flag of Madison, Wisconsin from 1962 through 2018, when concerns about cultural appropriation of the Zia, Puebloan, and New Mexican symbol led the city to remove it.[3]

Restrictions

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The Zia tribe does not hold a trademark to the symbol because, under U.S. federal law, it has ubiquitous regional representation. The state government of New Mexico guides people to educational resources on the appropriate use of the sun symbol at Zia Pueblo and at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, including information on receiving permission for commercial use and asking for the symbol be used respectfully in civil use.[4][5][6]A resolution was passed in 2014[7], by the National Congress of American Indians to recognize the Zia pueblo’s right to the symbol.

References

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  1. ^ "State Flag | Maggie Toulouse Oliver".
  2. ^ "Can't Agree On State Flag".
  3. ^ Wroge, Logan (July 24, 2018). "Madison City Council approves modified flag design". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  4. ^ McSherry, Erin (August 30, 2014). "Report to the Indian Affairs Committee of the New Mexico Legislature: Zia Pueblo" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
  5. ^ Turner, Stephanie B. (2012). "The Case of the Zia: Looking Beyond Trademark Law To Protect Sacred Symbols" (PDF). Student Scholarship Papers. Yale Law School Legal Scholarship Repository. Paper 124.
  6. ^ Boswell, Alisa (April 21, 2015). "Zia Pueblo say they want symbol used respectfully". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  7. ^ IAC 092914 Item 6 FINAL REPORT Zia Sun Symbol ekm 9 29 2014.pdf

See also

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