Pueblo pottery

A Postcrosser in California sent these 3 great cards showing Pueblo pottery from the San Bernadino County Museum's collection. The museum was established in the 1950s and is located in Redlands, California.

Amazon

Wow, thanks to Joao (a stamp collector in Brazil) my collection of native people in the Amazon is really growing....these are wonderful cards since the peoples & cultures are rapidly changing as a result of outside influences. Joao also sent some lovely Brazilian stamps featuring aspects of indigenous culture including rock art and ceramics. He kindly sent extra cards that I will pass on to my students!

A member of the Maku tribe located near Rio Negro. Behind him is the maloca, or ancestral long house, shared by several patrilineal related families with a separate entrance for men and another for women.

Using indigenous hunting/fishing tools along the Rio Marauia in northwestern Brazil.

A Kaiabi paje (shaman) and his red macaws. Macaw feathers are used for many decorations.1300 Kaiabi live in the Xingu reserve located in Mato Grosso, and shared with 14 other tribal groups.

A Karaja chief from Bananal Island decorated with body paint and a fantastic bird feather headdress. Tribal members live in 29 villages in Central Brazil; their population has declined from 45,000 to 3000 today.

Curtis girl

This image of a native child was made by Edward S. Curtis around 1900. Curtis was an important photographer; he made approximately 1500 images of Native Americans at the turn of the century with plans to publish them all in 20 volumes. Curtis sold just 227 of these book sets before the economic depression and died with his project unfulfilled. He also made documentary films such as In the Land of the Head Hunters, depicting life among Northwest Coast peoples; this film has recently been restored with new audio by the Burke Museum and retitled In the Land of the War Canoes.
This card was sent by Laura in the Netherlands!

Shopping in Michigan

In the US the earliest postcards were used for advertising due to postal regulations that didn't allow personal messages to be visible. Each year I travel with friends to Saugatuck Michigan to visit a nice shop...the owners spend their winters in New Mexico buying art directly from Native American artists and also from pawn shops, then bring their lovely items north. Here are 2 advertising postcards showing some of the amazing things sold in their shop. The owners are incredibly knowledgeable about the art, native communities and specific artists, so its always a great learning experience to spend time with them!!

Every Wind

A Postcrosser sent me this very nice portrait of an Ojibwa (Chippewa) woman taken in 1915 by Roland Reed. Reed was from Wisconsin and photographed native people in Minnesota and later Montana.Historically Ojibwa people lived on the north side of Lake Superior, traded furs with the French and English in Michigan and Wisconsin; today they remain in northern Michigan. Helene found this postcard out in New Mexico and its a wonderful new addition to my collection!!

Kiowa Eagle Dancer

Stephen Mopope's Eagle Dancer, 1929. Mopope (1900-1974) was a member of the Kiowa 5, a group of young painters encouraged during the 1920s and 1930s by Oscar Jacobson, a University of Oklahoma art professor. These artists were inspired by earlier plains ledger style art but created a different flat style. This card is produced by the stationary company Pomegrante and was sent from Germany.

Brazil

wow, Joao sent a packet of indigenous cards from Brazil and they are fantastic! He even found another stamp featuring the Yanomami but he reports these cards are surprisingly hard to find despite Brazil's rich native heritage. So big thanks to Joao for his success in finding such wonderful postcards!! Here are a select few:

A member of the Kamayura tribe along the Xingu River fishes from a dug out canoe.

A Karaja man from the Araguaia River wears an elaborate headdress made from macaw and heron feathers; he also has elaborate designs painted on his body.

A woman in the village of Kuicuro  on the Xingu River prepares food to be eaten in a celebration. The community's large shared house is behind her.

A Tauarauana man whose reserve is located along the Xingu River performs a dance that asks for spiritual protection of his community.