Crane clans developed among the Hopis and Zunis in the Southwest, while cranes served as totems for the Ojibwa and other tribal groups. Warriors of the Crow and Cheyenne made small whistles from the wing bones of Sandhill Cranes, and blew upon them in preparing for battle. Crane-associated dances have been recorded in many parts of the world, including the Mediterranean, China, Siberia, and Australia. A dance of the white cranes is known from 500 B.C. in China. Aboriginal Australians named the Brolga after a young woman whose exquisite dancing drew attention from numerous suitors, but who rejected all proposals of marriage.
Cranes continue to be used in new symbolic ways around the world.
Crowned Cranes are the national birds of Nigeria and Uganda, and Blue Cranes of South Africa. The coins and stamps of many countries have borne cranes. In part, perhaps, because of their beauty in flight, cranes have also been selected as the corporate logo for several commercial airlines. A young Japanese girl who had lived through the bombing of Hiroshima, but who was fatally stricken during its impact, resolved to fold a thousand paper cranes during her effort to recover. Although she was unable to complete the task, other children took up the task.