Postage Stamp Piece Write Up

The idea was to "design 4 grouped postage stamps on the subject of A Celebration of Cultural Diversity in the United States. " We were to "choose a cultural group found in the US, and select 4 aspects of the culture that have been integrated into the broader American culture."

My culture choice was American Indian. The cultural aspects I chose for the stamps were:

Food (stamp design—the 3 sisters—corn/beans/squash) These and other vegetables (as well as the techniques used to grow them) were introduced to European colonists by American Indians, and remain a part the US diet today.

Native Medicine (stamp design—yarrow plant, medicine rattle, "The Good Red Road") American Indians introduced European colonists to native medicinal plants. At least 200 wild medicinal plants & formulas were introduced to colonists, and many are still listed as medicines in the United States Pharmacopoeia. The medicine rattle and "The Good Red Road"represent the general holistic view of traditional native medicine— treating mind, body and spirit, and maintaining the philosophy of a proper "life path" that guards against illness and/or facilitates healing. After the introduction of "mainstream" medicine, traditional methods fell out of favor within the general US population. Within the last 10-15 years, however, there has been a consistent nationwide trend toward the use of "alternative" and "complimentary" therapies, methods which are rooted in traditional holistic and herbal practices.

Native Design (stamp design—traditional, inter-tribal designs from pottery, textiles and paintings) Many of these designs are found present-day in non-native produced textiles for clothing and furniture, home decor (southwest motifs), ceramics, and jewelry.

Lacrosse (stamp design-traditional hand-made lacrosse stick and ball) America's first sport. Played by American Indian tribes across the US as early as the mid-1600's. There are 477 college and college club teams and 14oo high school women's teams, as well as 400 college teams and 1200 high school men's teams in the US, today.