Monday, May 30, 2022

Hocokata Ti

 In 2019 the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux of Minnesota constructed a multi-purpose space for community and cultural events. This building, known as "The Lodge at the Center of the Camp" is featured on this postcard generously sent by a Postcrosser who lives in the area. 

Learn more by visiting shakopeedakota.org



Buffy Sainte-Marie

 In 2021 the Canadian Post issued a new stamp to commemorate the life and work of an Indigenous artist, musician, and activist. Happily a Canadian Postcrosser applied this stamp to a card advertising Buffy's 1996 performance at the Arden Theater in Albert, Alberta.

Beverly was born in 1941 to Cree parents in Saskatchewan, but raised by a Mi'kmaq family in the US. She began performing folk music in the 1960s, appeared on Sesame Street in the 1970s, and has released more than 15 albums of music. Her non-profit supports educational programs for Native youth.



Mourning Dove

 Hum-ishu-ma, also known as Christine Quintasket was born in Idaho in the mid 1880s. Her family had a blended ancestry, but she identified as a member of the Okanogan tribe. As a child she attended a mission school in Washington.

She became a published author of both fiction and traditional oral stories under the name Mourning Dove in the 1920s and 1930s. She died in 1936

This card was sent by a member of Postcrossing who currently lives and teaches in a Upik Alaskan Native village



Crazy Horse Memorial

 The Lakota warrior commonly called Crazy Horse was born approx 1840 and participated in many battles against the US Army operating on the Northern Plains in the 1860s & 1870s.He surrendered in 1877 and was immediately killed. No photo was ever taken of the man and his family buried his body in secret.

Work began in 1948 on a monument carved from stone in the Black Hills region of South Dakota near Mt Rushmore and is often visited by tourists in the summer. The original sculptor died in 1982 and some work has continued. However it remains unfinished and is not universally accepted by the Lakota.

In 1982 the US Postal Service issued a 13 cent stamp as part of their Great Americans series.

This card was sent by a Postcrosser who visited the site on a family vacation in 2021



Kish-Ke-Kosh

 Charles Bird King painted a portrait of this Mesquakie (Fox) man in 1837. One story tells that he acquired this buffalo headdress taken in battle against Sioux enemies.  He also holds a wooden club decorated with metal tacks, similar to Great Lakes war clubs made from gun stocks.

This card was sent by a Russian Postcrosser living in Spain




Sunka-Hanska

  
 
A German card featuring Long Dog, a Hunkpapa Lakota man. He was born in approx 1821 and fled to Canada after the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876. He returned to the US and lived at Standing Rock reservation.
 
This card was sent by a German member of Postcrossing

 

Mimbres Ritual Figure

Made from wood and decorated with paint, feathers and cotton, this object dates to approx 1350 and is now at the Art Institute of Chicago. The peoples now referred to as Mimbres lived in southern New Mexico between 200 and 1400AD, and are best known for their black & white pottery. They lived close to water, grew crops and expanded their populations. This object looks similar to older styles of Kachina figures made from cottonwood by the Pueblo peoples.

This card was published by the Art Institute in 1992 as part of their Art from Sacred Landscapes series.