2015 Sovereignty Symposium

friends in Oklahoma recently attended a conference discussing various aspects of Native American tribal sovereignty...issues included language preservation, gaming, justice, education, and resource management. A friend sent this wonderful postcard featuring the conference design, thanks RSF!!

NM turquoise

my pen pal Gary in Oklahoma took a nice trip west to New Mexico and shopped at the Laguna Pueblo. Gary and I both love old fashion tourist stuff and a driving trip out west is a great way to experience that even today! He sends a fun card that features some nice old jewelry (look for this is pawn shops but be prepared to pay high dollar). 

California Rock Art

I received an email from a Postcrosser in California recently...she had noticed a card of an Otoe man that I had sent as an Official and asked about it. The card's image  is from my University's museum's photo collection and I had arranged a gallery exhibition when some of the photos traveled. The Mathers Museum kindly shared postcards of a few images to use for publicity for the event;  I usually give the extras to my students, but occasionally mail a few to Postcrossers. I mailed one to her and in return she very kindly sent this awesome card of petroglyphs carved into the granite of the eastern Mohave Desert. The site is a National Preserve Surprisingly it is hard to find cards that celebrate Native peoples & cultures in California and so this card is a special addition to my collection. Thanks Jeannie!! Its really a super find

Ancient Puebloan tools from Mesa Verde

A nice trade with an American Postcrosser from Colorado brings this interesting card. She had many lovely cards of  Mesa Verde including stone structures, ancient pottery and this unusual offering! This card caught my eye right away and didn't seem like the type  that tourists would buy...featured in the photo are bone awls for sewing clothing, a stone axe, and ceremonial objects. Mesa Verde is a rock shelter occupied by the ancestors of Puebloan peoples 600-1300AD, with the stone shelters built around 1200 (perhaps in response to intrusions by other Native peoples such as the Apache). The site was famously discovered by a cowboy seeking lost cattle; it became a National Park in 1906 to protect the unique aspects and is a popular vacation destination.

Moche

I started a postcard exchange group in Facebook and received this super card from a group member in Finland. It is a Moche head vessel from the Tampere Art Museum exhibit celebrating the Inca and older Native civilizations in Peru. The Moche lived in Northern Peru 100-800AD, irrigating their crops and producing high quality art. Some of their pottery expresses sexuality and fertility, while others are associated with political leaders. Portrait pottery offers images of unique individuals such as this man. Thanks to Katri who enjoyed seeing the exhibit and kindly shared this wonderful card!

Aztec cards

more wonderful cards from the British Museum include

a mask of the creator god Texcatlipoca made with turquoise and shell. He was the primary Aztec deity, celebrated in May. He represents many concepts including night, warfare, shamanism and kingship. He was often symbolized with obsidian (volcanic stone) and mirrors. The museum website offers more info of the object at:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/m/mosaic_mask_of_tezcatlipoca.aspx

This item was worn as an ornament and is wood, covered with turquoise chips. Snakes were associated with the god Quetzalcoatl and other deities. Turquoise was an important trade & tribute product obtained from the north and was associated with the Toltec, a powerful pre-Aztec society. Aztec rulers favored the color blue. More info on this object and other examples of Aztec turquoise art can be found at:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/t/double-headed_serpent.aspx

Mandan dance

Its always wonderful to get cards new to my collection...a dear friend sent 3 purchased from the British Museum's gift store. Here is Karl Bodmer's view of a Mandan dance. Bodmer was a German artist who traveled with Prince Maxmillian on a trip into the American west in 1833. They visited the Mandan, Arikara and Hidatsa, 3 powerful tribes whose economy was based on agriculture and trade as well as hunting. Bodmer, like American artist George Catlin, painted scenes of these communities just before a smallpox epidemic would reduce their populations significantly and leave them vulnerable to the Lakota.

The image may look familiar...before making "Dances with Wolves" production staff closely examined Bodmer and Catlin paintings for details on Native American clothing, ceremonial regalia and weapons. This illustration influenced the bison hunting dance; for more info see Dances with Wolves: The Illustrated Story of the Epic Film, Newmarket Press (1990)