A badger is something most likely to be found rurally, if not at a University of Wisconsin-Madison football game, where team mascot Bucky the Badger struts his stuff. For Southwestern Natives, the badger is a significant animal, serving, among other things, as guardian of the South for Zuni’s six directions fetish images. A fierce burrower, the badger is hailed for its aggressiveness, single-minded persistence, and love of control.

Fact: Hopi master jeweler Charles Loloma utilized the badger paw as a personally meaningful design for his creations, since he was a member of the Badger Clan.