# 3075 - 1996 32c American Indian Dances: Raven Dance

US #3075
1996 Raven Dance

• Part of set of 5 picturing traditional dances
• Dances represent tribes from all over US

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  American Indian Dances
Value:  32¢, First-Class mail rate
First Day of Issue:  June 7, 1996
First Day City:  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Quantity Issued:  27,850,000
Printed by:  Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method:  Lithographed
Format:  Panes of 20 (5 across, 4 down) from printing plates of 120 (8 across, 15 down)
Perforations:  11.1

Why the stamp was issued:  This stamp is part of a set of five stamps issued to pay tribute to traditional Native American dances.  The dances were chosen to represent different areas of the US.

About the stamp design:  Keith Birdsong, an illustrator from Oklahoma, painted the stamp images using airbrush, acrylic, and colored pencils.  These were the first stamp images Birdsong produced for the USPS, though he had previously designed souvenir envelopes.
The artist based his artwork for the American Indian Dance stamps on photos of dancers.  The faces and costume details were changed to prevent portraying a living person on the stamp.  The dances include: Fancy Dance, Butterfly Dance, Traditional Dance, Raven Dance, and Hoop Dance.

Special design details:  The band at the bottom of each stamp is from digital clip art.  USPS art director Carl Herrman added color to the black-and-white clip art.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue ceremony took place on the opening day of the Red Earth Native American Cultural Festival held in Oklahoma City.  The festival includes juried art and dance competitions.

About the American Indian Dances set:  The cultural heritage of Native Americans was celebrated on these stamps featuring five American Indian dances - the Fancy Dance, Butterfly Dance, Traditional Dance, Raven Dance, and Hoop Dance. The Traditional, Fancy, and Hoop dances are attributed to many tribes across the United States and are primarily performed at pow-wows. A ceremonial dance, the Raven Dance is only performed in the Pacific Northwest, while the Butterfly is performed by Southwest Pueblo tribes.  Each stamp shows a Native American in traditional dress for each dance.

History the stamps represent:  Raven Dance: The Raven Dance of the Pacific Northwest Coast is shrouded in mystery. Some say this is because the dance is too sacred to be revealed, others say there is no such thing as the Raven Dance. 
Traditionally, Native Americans have relied on storytelling to transmit tribal beliefs and traditions. Raven originated as the chief protagonist in the stories of Tlingit people of southeastern Alaska. A playful trickster, full of intelligence and curiosity, Raven is sometimes the cultural hero and sometimes an alternately clever and stupid bird-human whose voracious appetite and eroticism leads to violent and amorous adventures. Raven stories, primarily designed to teach children their lineage and proper behavior, are told by dancers wearing elaborate and sophisticated Raven masks mimicking the movements and sounds of this very expressive bird. 
Because Raven stories deal with clan origins, they are the property of the clan and are not well suited for general usage. Consequently, there is no universal Raven Dance but a series of clan-specific Raven dances.
Raven dances, as well as Coyote and Mink dances, are held sacred by some tribes and not by others. For the tribes that revere them, they are the principal ceremonial events performed during the long winter months.