I
I
At reconstructed Oconaluftec Indian Village, Cherokee, vacationists are welcome to sec Indians working in a setting of
200 years ago. Above, left, Mose Owle works on a peace pipe. He also makes bows, arrows, and blowguns. Right, Golinda
Bigmeat. makes an old-fashioned bowl. — (Photos by Frank Jones.)
America's First Handcraftsmen
Deep in tlie Smokies, visitors ean see how
Cherokees have kept their ancient arts
alive.
By AUBREY JENNINGS
The first white intruders in the
Cherokee country found the Cherokee
using looms to weave fabrics of cedar
bark, wild flax and other plant fibers,
of the hair of the rabbit, raccoon and
buffalo, and amazing cloaks in which
brightly colored bird feathers were so
skillfully interwoven with fibers that
the whole garment appeared to be of
feathers.
They wove, of river cane, mats of
intricate design which they used as
coverings for their walls and benches.
They wove baskets in a variety of
shapes, from cane and other materials,
which they used for sifting meal, for
food storage, for carrying burdens, as
fish traps and for many other pur¬
poses.
They fashioned clay pots in which
they did their cooking, brewed their
sacred drink, and evaporated the wa¬
ter from saline springs to secure their
salt. They carved ceremonial pipes
from stone, and made their own tools,
utensils and weapons of wood and
other materials.
Since the Cherokees arc an adapt¬
able people, they early learned many
of the arts and skills of the white set¬
tlers and used them in their own way.
often replacing old Cherokee ways.
The Cherokees. through their long
history apparently never stopped mak¬
ing baskets and wooden household
articles. The tribe always scents to
have had a few weavers (though the
native looms were soon replaced by
the hand looms used by the pioneers)
and pottery-making never quite died
out among the people.
In 1934. Miss Edna Groves, home
economics supervisor for the Indian
Service, was stationed at Cherokee.
Under her leadership handcraft classes
were established in the Cherokee
schools, and Indians already making
handicrafts were encouraged to im¬
prove and increase their products and
were assisted in finding markets.
Basketry was first taught in the
schools, and the teacher was Mrs.
Lottie Stamper, an expert Cherokee
basket maker who still carries on this
work. Mrs. Maude Welch, widely-
known potter, was the first pottery
teacher in the school. Wood carving
was soon introduced by Going Back
Chiltoskie. another gifted Cherokee ar¬
tist.
Classes in woodworking, furniture
making, art metal work, weaving, deco¬
ration of paper and fabrics by hand
screening, and jewelry making were
added.
After the second World War tour¬
ists began to pour through the Reser¬
vation. bringing an excellent market
for the native handcrafts, and craft
production became an important fac¬
tor in the economy of the Cherokees.
Craft shops sprang up along the high¬
ways in which the native craft work
was sold, along with many other arti¬
cles which were not Indian made. It
was not necessary for the people to tic
their baskets and carvings up in sheets
and carry them to some near by town
and there sell them on the streets to
passersby as the Indians once did.
14
THE STATE. May 22. 1954
