Rattles are are part of the spirituality of Native Americans. They can be used in ceremonies along with the drum, or they were used when prays were said. Gourds were used to make rattles, but the most common what turtle shells. Turtles are sacred because they represent Turtle Island. Which is interesting considering they didn’t have a satellite image of North America.
The turtle is also sacred because they are a symbol of the yearly calendar. A turtle shell has 13 main scales which represents the 13 new moons during the year.