Fine-Feathered Career Men
Carl Slamlingdfcer is dean of group
following one off our unusual careers. LANDMARK
By BILL SHARPE .
One of the fascinating opportunities
in North Carolina is the profession of
"chicfing," practiced in and around
Cherokee. This is the business of put¬
ting on feathers and standing in front
of some souvenir place with the idea
of slowing down potential customers.
Somewhere around thirty "chiefs" —
none of whom, incidentally, arc chiefs
— work at Cherokee tourist places,
mostly on week ends and holidays,
though some work every day in the
season, and a few the year around.
They get moderate wages and occa¬
sional tips.
Feathers Count
Although some chiefs arc better at
their jobs than others, they must all
own or have access to a full head¬
dress — the showier the better. The war
bonnets affected by these chiefs never
were worn by the Chcrokccs. They arc
strictly for the plains tribe, but the
American tourist demands a lot of
feathers on his Indians.
Chiefs most imposing in appearance,
dress and manner stop the most tour¬
ists. And they have to stay out in plain
view and move around. The more am¬
bitious of them keep at some sort of
activity, such as shooting a bow, and
this helps immensely. A few of them
have personalities which please tour¬
ists and put them in a responsive mood.
Chicficst Chief
Dean of all the chiefs is Carl Stand-
ingdeer, who started at it about 18
years ago and is still at work in front
of Ross Caldwell’s place in Cherokee.
Carl, an amiable Cherokee, has an
emphatically Indianish look, and one
time I discovered he was the most
photographed man in America.
The way you arrive at such a su¬
perlative is to hang around and count
how many people photograph Carl in
one day. Then you multiply this by
the number of days in the year and
multiply that figure by the number of
years he has been in business. Then
you make your claim, and since no¬
body else has taken the trouble to
establish the superlative, it goes undc-
nied. A lot of authoritative-looking
statistics arc arrived at in just this way.
I forget how many pictures we figured
had been made of Carl, but it was a
total large enough to gladden the hearts
of the Eastman film stockholders.
Carl is a good guide, loo, though
as he has aged he is not inclined to do
much walking around. I have been
over much of the reservation with him.
and he can tell interesting anecdotes
about the tribe, but he has to be
pumped a lot. Even the most willing
Indians seem disinclined to just start
out and give information without
being asked specific questions.
Since he was chicfing long before
any of the others, and has worked at
it so long, he is one of the better-
known personality landmarks in North
Carolina. It is hard to cross the Smok¬
ies without seeing Carl.
Carl is proud of this wide acquain¬
tanceship. even though he no longer
tries to keep up with it. He smiles back
at scores of passersby who shout out
his name as they drive by. Like all of
us who know notables, they, too. arc
proud of their acquaintanceship with
this old Indian.
Good Archer, Too
Carl once was considered the best
archer on the reservation and won hon¬
ors at the annual Indian Fair several
times. He also is a skilled bow and ar¬
row maker.
Two pictures made 16 years apart.
The photograph on top is the first
of many pictures I made of Carl — in
fall of 1937 on Clingman’s Dome. On
the bottom is the most recent — made
this past June at Cherokee.
In between these pictures the chicf¬
ing business became quite common¬
place. The chiefs even had an
association at one time, and there is
now an Indian "chieftess,” decorated
with beads and two feathers. Children
now serve apprenticeships in the busi¬
ness, posing first as outsize papooses,
eventually to graduate into full-fledged
chiefs.
THE STATE,
ОСТОвСЯ
lO. 1953
3
