The popular understanding of war paint, like so many other elements of Native culture, has been warped by false, hostile, stagnant stereotypes that water down its true significance.

Today, the term is synonymous with makeup. You can buy Conan the Barbarian “War Paint” action figures online, and there’s even a men’s makeup brand called War Paint that promises to “upset a few stereotypes” and “derail a few stigmas.”

The dictionary will tell you that war paint is pigment worn by American Indians in preparation for battle. While that’s not incorrect, it’s not the whole truth either. To understand what it really signifies — and how it remains a powerful force in contemporary Native culture — one needs a deeper understanding of our culture and belief systems.

Native spirituality, as it is practiced traditionally, is holistic. Like the Lakota medicine man Hehaka Sapa (Black Elk) said, everything goes in a circle; that is to say, we believe that all things are connected. Because of that, our spiritual beliefs naturally flow through every aspect of our lives.

As a Oceti Sakowin woman and practitioner of Lakota spirituality, I know that war paint is not so much about war as it is about ceremony. Warriors painted themselves before battle to signify and activate their own medicine (spiritual power), reveal their identity (original paint designs often conveyed precise meanings), and for protection. Unique war paint designs drew upon dreams, visions, kinship ties, tribal practice, and instructions by medicine people, or it could show that one was a member of a warrior society.

It’s also important to remember that Native is a pan-Indian political classification grouping hundreds of different Indigenous Nations. There are 573 federally recognized Tribes in the U.S. alone, each with its own language, culture, land base, and spiritual belief system. While we share commonalities, we are not monolithic. For this reason, there may be variance in the interpretation of paint form and function.

Lakota war chief Tasunka Witko (Crazy Horse), for example, painted himself with designs based on a vision he had and the instructions of his medicine man. He used red earth to paint a lightning bolt from his forehead to his chin, and adorned his body with hailstones.

The Oceti Sakowin (Great Sioux Nation) are from the northern plains and we are a horse culture. Horses were a major part of our lives, and for the warrior, they were an extension of their own bodies. So, war paint in our culture often included horses, and the way they were drawn had meaning. A circle around the eye of the horse imparted it with the power to see into the spiritual realm. Lines upon the legs were marks of war prestige, or what we referred to as “coup,” showing that riders had been in battle. Horses were also distinguished with a handprint to denote who their rider was. If the horse returned to camp without its owner, the handprint, along with its other markings, would enable people to know which warrior was missing.

War paint was made from various pigments found in nature, including minerals, earth, and plant and animal materials.

Each color has its own meaning too. In the Western world, black is associated with evil and death. To the Oceti Sakowin, black represents the wakinyan, or thunder beings. It stands for honor and respect, and the powers of wind and water. Red means perseverance, purity, passion and wisdom; it denotes transcendental strength. Although yellow is often used to personify cowardice in Western society, to the Oceti Sakowin, it stands for light and rebirth. White exemplifies life, and blue is considered the most sacred, because it represents Grandfather Stone, who created the Earth. Blue is associated with Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery.