SYMBOLOGY
ZIA VIDA is a 100% indigenously owned company.
The main headquarters are located in Taos Pueblo, NM.
Our team has the utmost respect for the people and cultures associated with the sun symbol.
Below are some interesting facts regarding the symbol that we have learned along the journey.
The sun symbol found on our products is nearly identical to the sun symbol found on the state flag of New Mexico.
In 1923, the Daughters of the American Revolution announced a contest for a New Mexico state-flag design.
In 1925, Reba Mera came up with the chosen design winning $25.
Mera was inspired by a Zia Pueblo pot.
Here is a photo of the pot that inspired the design of the New Mexico state flag.
In 1923 the pot was part of a Santa Fe Indian art collection.
It is uncertain how the pot arrived into the art collection.
Here is a photo of Betty Toulouse (right) and Reba Mera (left) with the pot.
In recent times Zia Pueblo tribal leaders have claimed that the winning flag design was stolen from their people.
The pot has been returned to Zia Pueblo.
Zia pot with computer graphic enhancement overlayed.
A side-by-side comparison of the flag and pot symbols reveal the vast differences.
It is clear that the New Mexico state flag was inspired by, but not stolen from the pot.
Allegations that the symbol had been stolen came in the 1990s, much later than 1925.
In 1998 Zia Pueblo sought compensation of $74 Million from the state of New Mexico for use of the claimed stolen symbol.
$1 Million for each year that the state has used the symbol. As of 2022 Zia Pueblo has not been compensated.
Ironically, there have been indigenous pots excavated in Arkansas containing a symbol resembling the New Mexico flag
much more than the Zia Pueblo pot.
Many head pots found in the Mississippian region display sun symbols on the forehead.
The approximately 1,000-year-old pots are native to the Arkansas area.
Arkansas is a Native American word and the name of an ancient city in that region.
It is believed that these pots originated within the Casqui & Pacaha Tribes.
A close-up of the sun symbol on the forehead of an ancient head pot.
A side-by-side comparison of head pot symbol and New Mexico flag symbol.
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It is common to find the sun symbol on the forehead of the Mississippian head pots.
Photo from the Museum of Native American History Bentonville, Arkansas.
The word "ZIA"
The word "ZIA" came about in New Mexico about 400 years ago when Spanish settlers gave the name to a tribe native to New Mexico.
The name may have been derived from a mispronunciation of the sound "T'siya".
The oldest known reference to the name ZIA is found in the book of 1 Chronicles 5:13 written 400 - 250 BC.
"And their brethren of the house of their fathers were, Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven"
The verse is stating the lineage of Gad who is one of the twelve tribes of ancient Israel.
Ancient maps depict an area called ZIA northeast of the Dead Sea and west of modern-day Amman, Jordan.
In this area, Arabic is the most common language.
ZIA in Arabic means "a source of light".
It can not be a reflection of light like the moon, but must be a light source like the sun.
It is also interesting to note that the Book of Mormon proclaims that descendants from the tribes of ancient Israel
did indeed travel to North America from Jerusalem. Mormons claim that Joseph Smith found gold plates during 1823 in New York.
The supposedly found golden plates describe a journey to North America.
Interestingly enough, numerous ancient artifacts with Paleo Hebrew script have been found in North America.
Also, many Native American words have the same sound and meaning as Hebrew, especially in the Cherokee dialects.
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