I found much of this infomation from this link.
"Controversial and misunderstood, the ritualized use of peyote by American Indians has long been attacked by non-Indian religious and secular authorities. Despite official efforts to eliminate peyotism as far back as the Spanish Inquisition and as recent as the War on Drugs, its status in Native American spiritual life has not diminished.
Peyote is the holy sacrament of the Native American Church, and the peyote religion provides spiritual comfort, social benefit, and a creative outlet for hundreds of thousands of American Indian people. Grounded in older tribal religions from the Plains regions, the Native American Church was the first native religious movement organized and disseminated on the model of western Christian denominations. While providing opportunities for maintaining and strengthening tribal identities within a common, intertribal organization, the church also fosters a vibrant folk art tradition.
Works by self-taught and informally trained artists make up the diverse traditional and folk arts associated with the peyote religion. Peyote art displays an amazing range of generes, including carving, beadwork, featherwork, metalsmithing, and painting. The ritual objects and religious setting of the peyote religion provide core elements for the rich symbolism associated with the art of the Native American Church".
Perhaps it is the art therapy training in me that is attracted to this art. I read all the Castaneda books and admired the cover art of the books which makes use of these same colors. I doubt that is all of it. My great grandmother served dinners to us at her farmhouse on Fiestaware. I fell in love with the colors of those dishes way back then. Today I use Fiesta everyday. I even serve my cat his dinner on Fiestaware. After all there is no such thing as "cat food". Therefore there is no such thing as "cat bowls" or "cat dishes". It has been expensive learning...but well worth the effort.
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