spirit bear ~ bear medicine

The Legend of the SPIRIT BEAR
Native Americans have always held a reverence for bears. Bears hold a spiritual significance. Human-like in their ability to walk upright, bears are considered a link between people and animals. Bears are strongly linked to healing. They forage for plants which implies a knowledge of herbal medicine. Numerous common names for herbs and plants reflect this: bearberry, bear's paw, bear tongue, bear clover. Finally, because they hibernate, bears experience the ultimate magical transformation; they "die" and are "reborn" each year. The SPIRIT BEAR fetish holds special power because the fetish is thought to contain a living power (the bear) which can help its owner. The SPIRIT BEAR fetish has healing power –the power of the bear.