Aboriginal Canada

I received this nice card via a Postcrossing tag...it celebrates National Aboriginal Day in Canada on June 21st with a poster competition. It features many symbols of native understandings from the sacred white Buffalo of the prairies, NW Coast killer whale, an arctic shaman's mask and the 4 colors of a medicine wheel. This lovely card was mailed using many great stamps that also recall 1st Nations people!

 

Celebrating the Corn Beads (1999)

Christine Sioui Wawanoloath

Miwok, California

Inez, a Postcrosser in California sent this great card of a well known Miwok performer. The Miwok traditionally lived in small hunter/gather groups in Northern California. It is estimated that their population declined from 11,000 to less than 500 as settlers and gold miners flooded into California, leading to violence, disease and land loss.

Chris Brown performed under the name Chief Lemee for tourists at Yosemite for almost 30 years. An interesting explanation of dance regalia can be found here:
 http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/miwok_material_culture/dance_ornaments.html