COLLINSVILLE, IL -- Those looking for unique or special holiday gifts may want to consider two upcoming events at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Collinsville, Illinois.

 

            Indian Market Days will be held Thanksgiving weekend, with American Indian artists and other vendors selling a wide variety of items.  The event will be held in the Interpretive Center Friday, November 25 from noon to 4 p.m.; Saturday, November 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, November 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Indian Market vendors include:  Tony and Ola Eriacho (Zuni), jewelry; Bret Doiron (Cherokee), beadwork and wampum jewelry; George Whitewolf (Monocan/Sioux), traditional clothing; Mary Lou Lindahl, Alaskan ivory and baleen carvings; Beverly Luecking, walking sticks and children’s items; Maria Susanna Lovato (Santo Domingo), jewelry; Dan Townsend (Creek/Cherokee), shell gorgets; Maria S. Hamilton, jewelry and ceramics; and Rod Jackson, herbal teas and bath salts.

 

            The Winter Indian Art Show will be held Saturday and Sunday, December 3 and 4, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Interpretive Center.  Artists will be selling a variety of fine arts in many media, including paintings, sculpture, ceramics, metal work, jewelry, dolls, flutes, and more.  Harold Brummet (Seminole) will feature metal work pieces; Dan Corley (Cherokee) will have beautiful feathered masks; Alex Davis (Seneca/Cayuga) will have intriguing pencil, pen and ink drawings and paintings; Emerson Quannie (Hopi), Nelson Garcia (Santo Domingo), and Maria Susanna  Lovato (Santo Domingo) will sell many unique jewelry items and silverwork; Catherine Mowry (Miami) will have dolls and oil, acrylic and pastel paintings; Victoria McKinney (Echota Cherokee) will feature contemporary pottery with ancient motifs; and Terry Lee Whetstone (Cherokee) will have acrylic paintings, flutes and music CDs he has recorded.

 

These events are sponsored by the Cahokia Mounds Museum Society and Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and are free and open to the public.  The Gift Shop at Cahokia Mounds also handles Indian-made jewelry, pottery, books on Indians and archaeology, T-shirts, and many unique gift items.

 

            Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (www.Illinois-History.gov), is just eight miles from downtown St. Louis in Collinsville, Illinois, off Interstates 55/70 and 255, and Illinois Rte 111 on Collinsville Road.  Cahokia Mounds is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  There is no admission charge but a donation of $2 for adults and $1 for children is suggested.  For more information, call (618) 346-5160, Wednesday through Sunday, or consult the web site at www.cahokiamounds.com.