From Cheryl Shearar’s “Understanding Northwest Coast Art”:
Haida stories tell of high ranking women arriving at feasts with live hummingbirds tied to their hair to announce their beauty, wealth, prestige and close communion with the spirit of the bird. Legends have it that this tiny bird is a rainbow, or an animate prism, busily turning sunlight into weightless jewels. Among Haida people of the Eagle clan, Hummingbird is a family crest, but it is not traditionally a major motif in the art. Its popularity today indicates that it has become a very important symbol of love and beauty.
