Narragansett

My card collection grows occasionally; I recently made a small purchase of cards to fill in some gaps including tribes of the Northeast. This tourist card text states:

"The Narragansett were once the strongest tribe in southern New England. Princess Pretty Flower is the wife of war chief Roaring Bull"

Eleanor Spears Dove (1918-2018) and her husband owned a restaurant for 23 years that offered indigenous cuisine, participated in tribal activities, and are well remembered in their community. Her husband was the first Native American postmaster. More information about them can be found at the Tomaquag Museum in Rhode Island

Indian Farewell

A Postcrosser in New Jersey sent me a vintage card produced by Baxter Lane in Texas that she purchased from Ebay, a good source for old postcards! The image and text are a bit silly now but were likely well received in the 1950s and 1960s when tv shows about settlers crossing the American desert were popular:

"Until we meet again may the Great Spirit make sunrise in your heart, and may your moccasins make tracks in many snows yet to come"

Haida Poles

A Canadian Postcrosser sent me a card of Haida poles at Skidegate, Haida Gwaii. The short but informative test reads:
"Each house in this village was identified with crests which were displayed on mortuary poles and house fronts. Photographed by Richard Maynard in 1890"

This village is located on Graham Island in British Columbia. In the early 1800s they traded sea otter pelts. The area contains a number of carved poles as well as a heritage center that offers educational programs, museum, performance space and areas for wood carving.

Chief Odowa Littlecreek

A Postcrosser in Virginia sent me a vintage card from Oklahoma featuring a man from Minnesota! Old tourist cards often reused stock images and this card's text reads:
"To know the OKLAHOMA INDIAN of today is not only to feel pride in his or her individual accomplishments but also to accept this history as the rich heritage of the state of Oklahoma" The card was published by Storer's Cards, located at Memorial and 11th (old Rt 66) in Tulsa which opened in 1972.

The photo is of Benjamin Jacob Odowa Littlecreek, a member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. He was born in Minnesota in 1897, worked at a 3M plant during WW2 and also worked at the Itaska State Park in Minnesota probably in the 1940s & 1950s. He died in 1964 in Fargo, ND. He is featured on many tourist cards. My collection includes a smaller version of this card, published in Minnesota with more accurate information.

Crow women

Adam Sings in the Timber is a Crow photojournalist, documenting his community as well as stories about Natives in Seattle. He has a new series of images that document women in their regalia standing on land their tribe once occupied...of this series I especially like scenes of Ho Chunk women at the shore of Lake Michigan and Pottawatomie women standing on the platform for Chicago's elevated train.

He has produced a few prints including this group of Apsaalooke (Crow) women wearing modern versions of the elk tooth dress. Each animal has only 2 milk teeth; a woman displaying hundreds on her dress would be quietly honoring the hunting skills of her male relatives. This photo was taken at the 100th annual Crow Fair pow wow in Montana. For more of Adam's work visit his website: www.singsinthetimber.com

Hopi Kachina Art

Kachinas a part of a complex religious system among the Hopi and Zuni, puebloan people of New Mexico. This system includes a belief in spiritual beings who live in the mountains, men who dance in ceremonies, and small objects given to children for religious instruction. At certain times of the year the spirits visit villages, bringing rain for the crops. Ceremonies are conducted to honor the spirits; religious society members receive instructions, create dance outfits, and perform for the community. Small images carved from cottonwood and painted are given to children to help them learn about the hundreds of spiritual beings. Contemporary Kachina figurines are more elaborate and often recreated as non-secular art and tourist items, sold throughout the southwest

generic New Mexico

Traded for an envelope of cards, mostly all Native themed. Several featured ancient ruins but these 2 do not identify their location. There are several possible reasons for this: they are stock photos that generically symbolize ancient peoples; the sites are protected; or the sites are on private lands. The text provides few details, suggesting that either the publisher or the consumer is not particularly interested in specifics.

"The first people to inhabit New Mexico were the members of the Clovis culture of Paleo-Indians. These inhabitants were followed by Native Americans as the Mogollon cultures."

"The natural sandstone of New Mexico made great building blocks for the Native American Indians that called N.M. home. some of those structures still stand today."