While seeking a logo to represent their two-year old collaboration, the Indigenous Collaborative of the Americas turned to the ancient “Prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor.” The prophecy predicted a time when the eagle (symbolic of the peoples of South America), the condor (North America), the hummingbird (Mexico), and the quetzal (Central America) “would reunite once again with their original knowledge, strength, diversity and connection to the Earth” (Erika Gagnon and Claudia Cuentas, “Prophecy of the Eagle & the Condor: Ancient Healing Ways for Modern Times”). This time would offer reconciliation, reunification, and healing both for the land and for people.
The Indigenous Collaborative of the Americas (ITCA) – a network of Indigenous tourism leaders and tourism industry leaders working to build Indigenous tourism capacity and capture industry, government and public support for Indigenous tourism – has adopted a logo based on the eagle and condor reunification prophecy.
The logo was created by Adrienne Zimiga-January, ITCA’s Indigenous designer, who said that, “the prophecy talks about how these four birds will bring about a new era of human behavior, sustainability, and how we as two-leggeds will be more conscious of our Unci Maka (Mother Earth). I began creating artwork that included each of these beautiful birds but as I continued I realized that though the birds are vastly different in size, their importance to each region is equal. From there, I chose a single feather of the same size from each bird to show that equality.”
Not only are the four birds symbolic of peoples and of locales, they’re representative of different aspects of nature and human consciousness. The condor represents physicality and the earth; the hummingbird represents love; the quetzal represents the mind and vision; and the eagle represents spirit and transcendence.
ITCA is delighted in its new logo’s depiction of the four regions of the Indigenous Americas in an equal partnership to build capacity and gain support for sustainable Indigenous tourism.
