Charity Card

I received a postcrossing card from a member in the Netherlands who supports an organization: Wilde Ganzen. They support small projects in the developing world including education, women's rights, water and agriculture. Likely the postcrosser received some cards as part of his membership and he kindly sent this one to me. There is no information on the card so I am guessing the Indigenous children are in Mexico; the skirt style should provide some clues so I've asked friends who work in Latin America to help me.

Update: other scholars have identified these children as Mayans of Central America based upon the skirt fabric.

Bandelier

A bonanza of 3 cards came in today's mail, a wonderful gift from Chris (a Natl Park Service employee based in New Mexico).
This wonderful card has good information in the text: located near Los Alamos, Frijoles Canyon is 17 miles long and the creek runs year round with snow melt and summer rains, enabling ancestral Pueblo peoples to grow crops. They built rooms for shelter and storage, occupying the site 1100-1600AD. The area also has kivas and rock paintings.

Bandelier was designated as a National Monument in 1916 by President Wilson and named for the southwestern archaeologist Adolph Bandelier. Hopefully this (and all ancient sites) will continue to be protected!

Wupatki

Had a good trade for cards including this one of a pre-Puebloan ruin located near Flagstaff, Arizona. The area has many ruins dating to the regional migrations that occurred around 1100AD. It has a multistory dwelling, ballcourt, kivas constructed from local red sandstone. Residents farmed land that had been improved by a volcano eruption, made pottery and participated in trade. The sites were in decline by the late 1100s and abandoned in the early 1200s. Today it is a National Monument with limited access.

Chaco (ancient Puebloans)

How exciting! A former student got a job with the Park Service and is now based at Aztec Ruins in New Mexico. He travels to other parks in the SW and is sending me cards with messages about his adventures, training activities etc.

The Chaco culture was developed by ancestors of today's Pueblo who hunted and farmed a thousand years ago, transporting stone from great distances to build their towns. They managed local water supplies but long drought periods led to economic and social instability. Eventually the people moved and resettled.

This card's text says "This view of Kin Kletso is from the Pueblo Alto Trail. Built in two stages from AD 1125-1130, it is a classic McElmo style pueblo with rooms organized into a compact rectangle with no plaza."

Wyandot

Occasionally I buy cards from Ebay sellers....this one caught my eye and my NE/Great Lakes collection can always use more cards!

The Wyandot Indians Attending Services at the Wyandot Mission Church 1830
Curteich, published for the Wyandot Museum

They Wyandot, also known as the Wendat or Huron, were a confederation of several communities when Europeans arrived in the 1600s and began to conduct trade. Disease and conflict over resources, including beavers, reduced their numbers and strength. The group dispersed and some moved to Ohio where they supported Americans against the English, although subsequent treaties reduced their territory. In 1819, the Methodist Church established a mission to the Wyandot in Ohio, its first to Native Americans. In the 1840s they were removed to Indian Territory of Kansas and later Oklahoma.

The Curteich Printing Company produced large numbers of postcards, including many with a Native American theme. They closed in 1978 and materials were archived at a Chicago museum; recently it has moved to the Newberry. For more information see:
http://www.newberry.org/curt-teich-postcard-archives-collection

Oklahoma Cherokee

Wonderful new cards came from Oklahoma recently, courtesy of the Easter Bunny! All these cards celebrate the unique history of the Oklahoma Cherokee and bear the official tribal seal as well as the web address for Cherokee tourism: www.CherokeeTourismOK.com

Here an interpretor demonstrates farming at a recreated village in Park Hill. Women tended the gardens, made baskets, sewed clothing and added their voices to political decsions.

Knowledge and education have always been important to the Cherokee people. This statue honors Sequoyah, the creator of the written Cherokee alphabet. Within a few years almost all tribal members could read & write, producing newspapers and legal documents before removal. The statue stands on the grounds of Northeastern State University, previously the Cherokee women's seminary.

 The 3 remaining columns of the Female Seminary building dating from 1851

The Cherokees used their alphabet to produce a dual language newspaper before removal and they began printing in Oklahoma as well. This is the the 1st edition of the Advocate (1844), the paper continued until 1906. In 2010 the original printing press was restored and is on display.

Once they had arrived in Indian Territory, the Cherokee began to rebuild their governmental institutions. This is the Capitol Building of the Cherokee Nation, used for the Executive, judicial and legislative branches, built in 1869 after the Civil War damaged much of Native life. It was restored in 2013 and continues to be used by the Cherokee tribe.

These cards offer a nice tour through Cherokee history and culture without being stereotypical. Nice shopping by the Easter Bunny!

Shoshone-Bannock

Had a very nice card exchange from a man in Washington...he has traveled around Alaska and the NW, picking up some very nice Native cards along the way! This card features the Shoshone-Bannock of Idaho. Today they are a small community of about 5000 tribal members. Historically they lived in a territory located in parts of Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Canada. They hunted, fished, collected wild foods and participated in regional trade but they were impacted by travelers on the Oregon Trail. Their lands were reduced by treaties signed in the 1860s and they lost more in later years.

Its very nice to add cards from this region to my collection and I hope to find more!