When supplies from Mexico or elsewhere were not available, Indian decks were manufactured on rawhide or horse skin in imitation of Spanish-suited ones. Usually they had 40 cards for playing the game 'monte' which was popular amongst the Indians, including the Araucanians of South America. Packs were probably also produced as tourist bait and sold to anthropologists and collectors.

Native Indian Cards

painted by themselves
Patagonian Indian cards

Above: cards from an Apache Indian pack painted on rawhide and obtained from an officer in the United States army in 1869. [Cards reproduced in Tilley, 1973, page 72].


Left: cards painted on rawhide, believed to have been made by Indians of Patagonia. [Cards in the collection of Museo de América, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid, reproduced in Denning, 1996, page 141].


Below: North American Indian cards, cut out of hide and painted by themselves. [Cards in the National Museum, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. reproduced in Morley, 1989].
Apache Cards, deerskin Apache Cards, deerskin Apache Cards, deerskin Apache Cards, deerskin
Apache Cards, deerskin Apache Cards, deerskin Apache Cards, deerskin Apache Cards, deerskin


I am indebted to Prof. Harold Wayland for his kind advice regarding the contents of this page. Click here to see more Apache cards. © 2003 The World of Playing Cards.