MacRae’s Indian Books
Posted by Danielle on Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Do you ever discover a hidden treasure that was right under your nose? I’ve lived in my hometown most of my life. On one major corner you’ll find MacRae’s Indian Books. It’s been there since before I was born. A few months ago on a date night, my husband and I wandered in. Wow! This bookstore was HUGE with a gigantic selection of Native Americn books, art and artifacts. Many of the books are out of print, so if this is your thing, this is your place.
According to the website, MacRae’s has 5761 titles available online. It is the largest independent Native American Bookstore. I believe it!
They also have amazing Native American art, including:
Little People/Dolls
Carved by Shona-Hah, the matriarch of the Lelooska family who drew on first hand knowledge, much research, and collected memories of the Old Ones for her inspiration. Each “Little Person” is unique, displayed as authentically as possible, essentially a vignette of the way that the person or persons would have lived, worked, or played in the past, and in amazingly detailed and authentic clothing.
Masks can be removed from most of the dancers to reveal the hidden faces of the dancer.
The character and beauty of the faces appear lifelike, so much so in some of them that one can recognize them from their photographs. Others are not modeled on any one particular person, but a composite of a particular Native American type. Her work can also be found at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
Lelooska Carvings
Carved by Chief Don Lelooska, the patriarch of the Lelooska family and son of Shona-Hah. He drew on first hand knowledge, much research, and memories of the Old Ones for his inspiration. His work can also be found at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
The story of the store is pretty neat, too.
Ken MacRae started selling books in 1968, reprinting choice Indian titles and stocking new books about Native American craft and culture from Apache to Zuni.
He moved to Enumclaw, at the base of Mt. Rainier 37 years ago. Ken stocked every Indian title available (over 6,000) and sold books world-wide, sharing the culture of the American Indian. His legacy of books and art are still available today. After Mr. MacRae passed away, his oldest daughter moved back to town to reopen the store:
Hello,
I’m Kathy MacRae Foy, Ken’s oldest daughter. My husband, Bob, and I have re-opened MacRae’s Indian Books. My Dad left a wonderful heritage of Indian books and art to be shared with the world.
We welcome your interest and look forward to your online or in-store visit.
There is no search feature on the website, but here’s an easy way to search. Go to Google and enter Site:www.macraesindianbooks.com **enter book title, author or tribe here, then take out the stars!***
If you visit or purchase from MacRae’s, please tell them MissMouthy sent you!!
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