strong heart bear

CLICK ON THE BEAR BELOW to "Pick a Card" for Your Daily Animal Totem Guidance!
You will benefit from learning which animal "right now" is guiding you - and learn the Ojibwe word of your animal.

PHYSICAL card decks are available for only $37 (which includes shipping to USA addresses) - Size of the deck is 5x3 inches.

Animal Totem Coaching Sessions are also available for $111 per hour!

For more info, email Dez Stephens at dezstephens@yahoo.com.

Animal Totems Card Deck for Personal Transformation

The Animal Totems Digital Card Deck is a contemplative tool for personal transformation, intuitive reflection, and spiritual learning through the wisdom of animals. Rooted in Indigenous worldviews and guided by reverence for the natural world, this deck invites users to deepen their relationship with themselves, their inner knowing, and the living intelligence of nature.

Each card features an animal as a messenger, offering insight into cycles of growth, healing, protection, resilience, and connection. Rather than predicting outcomes, the deck supports self inquiry and awareness by helping individuals recognize the lessons and energies present in their current life experiences.

What makes this deck distinctive is its bilingual approach. Card titles and key teachings are presented in both English and Anishinaabe, supporting learning and familiarity with Ojibwe language and worldview. Language is treated not simply as translation, but as a living carrier of culture, relationship, and meaning. Through repeated exposure, users naturally begin to recognize and remember Anishinaabe words connected to animals, qualities, and spiritual teachings.

The deck is designed for personal reflection, journaling, meditation, coaching sessions, and small group circles.

Each card includes:

• The animal name in English and Anishinaabe

• Core spiritual teachings and symbolic meanings

• Reflective prompts for personal insight

• Gentle guidance for integrating the animal’s wisdom into daily life
  
  

This digital format allows for accessibility and ease of use while honoring traditional teachings through intentional language, imagery, and pacing. The Animal Totems Deck does not claim ownership of Indigenous knowledge. It is offered as a respectful learning bridge, encouraging humility, listening, and relationship with the teachings rather than consumption of them.

Ultimately, this deck supports individuals in remembering that wisdom lives in relationship. With the animals, with the land, with language, and with themselves.

Email Dez Stephens at dezstephens@yahoo.com for more information about using these cards for personal or professional use!

Daniel Hull, Strong Heart Bear
Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) Elder

Daniel Hull, known by his traditional name Strong Heart Bear, is an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) Elder devoted to a life of service, ceremony, and community healing.

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Daniel is the descendant of Native parents whose traditional practices and language were disrupted by the Catholic boarding school system imposed on earlier generations in Upper Michigan and Wisconsin. Like many families impacted by this history, cultural teachings were discouraged, leaving a profound absence of elders, language, and guidance in his early life.

Daniel grew up amid alcoholism, domestic violence, and disconnection. His youth was marked by struggle, bullying, and a lack of direction. A pivotal turning point occurred in 1987 when he was shot three times during an altercation. Rushed into emergency surgery, doctors later shared that he died three times on the operating table. Though the surgery saved his life, his body was severely damaged, and he was placed in a medically induced coma for two weeks.

When Daniel awoke, a single thought came clearly to him: “I do not have to live that old life anymore.” At the foot of his hospital bed was a beaded pouch left by a cousin during his coma. He later learned it was a traditional tobacco bag. That offering became the catalyst for his return to his ancestral roots.

After two months in the hospital, Daniel traveled to his grandmother’s reservation seeking elders and guidance. There, his journey into traditional Anishinaabe ways began. Over many years, he returned regularly to learn ceremony, including the sweat lodge, the pipe, and the teachings carried by his people. Elders fluent in Anishinaabemowin helped him begin reclaiming the language of his ancestors.

Daniel was first given the traditional name Gentle Bear, and later, Strong Heart Bear. After years of ceremony and mentorship, he was gifted the Pipe during a pipe ceremony with the words, “May the burdens be with you.” This marked his readiness to carry the Medicine of the Pipe and serve his community in a deeper way.

From that moment forward, Daniel dedicated himself to service to the Creator and to the people. He has led pipe ceremonies, sweat lodges, talking circles, and Bear Healing Ceremonies. He has mentored at risk middle and high school students, served within the prison system, and drummed for Sundance and other sacred gatherings.

Daniel was also given a Vision for his own ceremony, Nanda Bisaniiwewin Niimowin, translated as The Finding Peace in Your Heart Dance. This inclusive ceremony, open to all, has now entered its 21st year and continues to create spaces for healing, belonging, and reconciliation.

After moving to Tennessee more than three years ago, Daniel expanded his service through collaboration with the University of the South in Sewanee as part of their Indigenous Engagement Initiative, moving beyond land acknowledgment into lived relationship. Alongside Christina Ulibarri (She Stands Tall), co creator and medicine holder of the sacred altar Wazaakone Ode (The Divine Heart), Daniel co leads monthly talking circles for faculty, students, and community members. Together they bridge Indigenous and Western perspectives on land stewardship, ecology, and conflict resolution, and are frequently invited into classrooms to share these teachings.

Daniel lives by the teaching “We are all One” and works to restore the full meaning of “All My Relations.” Central to his message is the restoration of dignity, honor, and equality for women as the creators of life within an imbalanced, hierarchical society.

He begins each morning with a prayer to the Creator, asking, “How am I to be in service today?”

Upon receiving the SSP Eagle Feather Award, Daniel shared:

“It is with the utmost humility that I receive this gift. Before anything else, I recognize the Divine that set me on this journey. The beauty and the hardship alike have moved me toward a purpose greater than my own discomfort. Like the many fine hairs of the feather, this recognition reflects all those who have walked beside me, creating spaces for healing. My gratitude to them goes beyond what words can credibly define.”

Through the Animal Totem teachings and his continued service, Strong Heart Bear offers wisdom rooted in humility, relationship, and remembrance.

Animal Totem Card Legend

Guidance for Working With the Animal Messages

The Animal Totem Cards are not meant to predict the future or assign fixed meanings. Each animal arrives as a messenger, offering guidance that is relational, situational, and alive. The meaning of a card unfolds through your own lived experience, reflection, and relationship with the teaching.

When you draw a card, you are invited to meet the animal as a teacher walking beside you, not a symbol to be interpreted intellectually or consumed for answers.

How Animal Totems Offer Guidance

An animal may appear to reflect
• A quality you are being invited to embody
• A strength you already carry
• A lesson or balance being requested
• A reminder of relationship with self, community, ancestors, or land
• A form of protection, healing, or guidance during transition

These teachings are not static. They change as you change.

Language as a Living Teacher

Each card includes the animal’s name in English and Anishinaabe (Ojibwe). The Anishinaabe word is not simply a translation, but a living carrier of culture, worldview, and relationship. With repeated use, familiarity with the language grows naturally, deepening respect for the teachings and their origins.

Sitting With a Card

You may wish to ask
• What part of my life does this animal feel connected to right now?
• What quality is being highlighted or restored?
• Where am I being asked to listen more closely?
• How does this teaching show up in my body, emotions, or relationships?

There is no need to rush understanding. The medicine often reveals itself over time.

Animal Totem Guidance Reference

57 Animal Messengers

Ant
Patience, cooperation, and steady effort. Small consistent actions are supported.

Bat
Rebirth and intuition. Trust what you sense even in darkness or transition.

Bear
Strength, protection, and introspection. A time for rest, healing, or firm boundaries.

Beaver
Creation and purposeful work. Build with balance and intention.

Bee
Community and sacred contribution. Your role matters within the whole.

Bigfoot
Mystery and the unseen self. Honor what cannot yet be explained.

Bison
Abundance and grounded strength. Move forward with dignity and trust.

Boar
Fearlessness and resolve. Meet challenges directly and honestly.

Buffalo
Gratitude and sacred reciprocity. All needs are met through respect.

Bull
Stability and persistence. Stay rooted and present.

Butterfly
Transformation and renewal. You are becoming something new.

House Cat
Independence and intuition. Balance closeness with personal boundaries.

Camel
Endurance and inner resources. You are prepared for long journeys.

Chameleon
Adaptability and awareness. Change is intelligence in motion.

Cow
Nourishment and gentleness. Care is a sacred act.

Dog
Loyalty and trust. Examine devotion and support.

Deer
Gentleness and sensitivity. Lead with compassion and awareness.

Donkey
Humility and quiet strength. Steady presence carries wisdom.

Dolphin
Joy and emotional intelligence. Healing flows through connection.

Dragon
Inner power and mastery. Work consciously with strong energy.

Dragonfly
Illusion and truth. Look beneath appearances.

Elephant
Wisdom and ancestral memory. Honor long held teachings.

Eagle
Vision and spiritual perspective. See the larger truth.

Falcon
Focus and decisive action. Timing matters.

Flamingo
Balance and self expression. Stand confidently in who you are.

Fox
Cleverness and discernment. Move wisely without overexposure.

Goat
Determination and ambition. Progress comes step by step.

Hedgehog
Protection with softness. Boundaries and gentleness can coexist.

Horse
Freedom and vitality. Trust forward movement.

Jaguar
Inner power and shadow awareness. Face what has been avoided.

Kangaroo
Protection and momentum. Trust leaps of faith.

Lemur
Curiosity and play. Exploration opens insight.

Leopard
Grace and strength. Power without domination.

Llama
Steady service and perseverance. Carry responsibility with calm.

Lizard
Renewal and instinct. Regeneration is possible.

Monkey
Creativity and flexibility. Lightness brings clarity.

Moose
Self esteem and leadership. Stand tall without apology.

Parrot
Communication and listening. Words carry power.

Otter
Joy and emotional flow. Play is healing.

Pegasus
Spiritual freedom and imagination. Let inspiration lift you.

Pig
Abundance and appreciation. Recognize what is already present.

Praying Mantis
Stillness and sacred attention. Pause before action.

Pomeranian
Confidence beyond size. Impact is not measured by scale.

Raccoon
Resourcefulness and curiosity. Use what is available creatively.

Raven
Transformation and mystery. Change arrives through the unknown.

Scorpion
Protection and emotional truth. Honor boundaries and depth.

Snake
Healing and renewal. Release what no longer fits.

Snowy Owl
Quiet wisdom and perception. Insight comes through silence.

Spider
Creation and interconnectedness. You are part of a larger pattern.

Squirrel
Preparation and balance. Tend future needs without fear.

Steer
Grounded leadership and responsibility. Strength guided by purpose.

Turtle
Longevity and patience. Slow movement carries ancient wisdom.

Tiger
Confidence and personal power. Step fully into strength.

Whale
Emotional depth and nurturing. Feeling is intelligence.

Unicorn
Spiritual imagination and purity. Protect what is sacred within.

Wolf
Loyalty and unity. Balance independence with belonging.

Wolverine
Tenacity and fierce protection. Defend what matters with integrity.

A Closing Reminder

These cards are offered as a learning bridge, not an ownership of Indigenous knowledge. Wisdom lives in relationship. With the animals. With the land. With language. And with yourself.

Return to the cards as often as you wish. The animals will meet you where you are.