Discover the stories, history and meaning of Cherokee pottery and artists. The intricate designs and complex patterns of Cherokee pottery have been developed over centuries. Both timeless and time-honored, these singular works of pottery are still crafted by the proud hands of Cherokee women in Western North Carolina. Cherokee Pottery recounts the history of a tradition passed from elder to child through countless generations. Anna Fariello, associate professor at Western Carolina University, explores the method and meaning molded into each piece, along with the stories of the potters themselves.

Traces the craft of pottery making among the Catawba Indians of North Carolina from the late 18th century to the present When Europeans encountered them, the Catawba Indians were living along the river and throughout the valley that carries their name near the present North Carolina-South Carolina border. Archaeologists later collected and identified categories of pottery types belonging to the historic Catawba and extrapolated an association with their protohistoric and prehistoric predecessors. In this volume, Thomas Blumer traces the construction techniques of those documented ceramics to the lineage of their probable present-day master potters or, in other words, he traces the Catawba pottery traditions. By mining data from archives and the oral traditions of contemporary potters, Blumer reconstructs sales circuits regularly traveled by Catawba peddlers and thereby illuminates unresolved questions regarding trade routes in the protohistoric period. In addition, the author details particular techniques of the representative potters—factors such as clay selection, tool use, decoration, and firing techniques—which influence their styles.

Shows examples of traditional Cherokee crafts, such as jugs, baskets, pottery and the like.

A major economic industry among American Indian tribes is the public promotion and display of aspects of their cultural heritage in a range of tourist venues. Few do it better than the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, whose homeland is the Qualla Boundary of North Carolina. This book presents the two faces of the Cherokee people. One is the public face that populates the powwows, dramatic presentations, museums, and myriad roadside craft locations. The other is the private face whose homecoming, Indian fairs, traditions, belief system, community strength, and cultural heritage are threatened by the very activities that put food on their tables.

This study examines the period between 1730 to 1790, which saw the Cherokee people travel the path from a sovereign people allied with the British to a dependent nation signed by treaty to the American Civilization program with US government. The author analyzes how, in between, the Cherokees fought two wars—one with the British military and one with the Continental Army. A group of Cherokee peace and military chiefs navigated the journey for the Cherokees in trying to handle both wars. Ultimately, a break-away group of young Cherokees, led by Dragging Canoe, led his Chickamauga Cherokees away from their traditional leaders and into the battlefield with the Americans. Sadly, all Cherokees paid the price for the actions of these young warriors. The Cherokees survived these ordeals and continue on as a people today just like the rivers that continue to flow through their lands.

Discusses the settlement and later abandonment of the Tuckaleechee towns of Cherokees in the later 17th and earlier 18th centuries by examining the archaeological record of their everyday lives.