Browse Items (291 total)

Lucy Nola George (1897-1978) was raised in the Birdtown community on the Qualla Boundary. In a departure from traditional Cherokee ways of learning, Lucy George did not learn basket making from mother. In the 1930s, as a grown woman, she learned…

This undated photograph shows a Cherokee basket maker, Maggie Ben, making white oak splits to be used in a basket. White oak was known to make very sturdy baskets that were useful for gathering fruits and vegetables from the field or garden,…

Cherokee basket weaver Martha Ross is shown here holding a miniature white oak basket. Martha Lossiah Ross (b. 1931) was born and raised in Big Cove, a remote section of the Qualla Boundary near Cherokee, North Carolina. Her mother, Charlotte…

This undated photograph was taken while Maude Welch was making pottery on the porch of her home. Maude French Welch (1894-1953) was born near Cooper's Creek in the Birdtown section of the Qualla Boundary. Her pottery was formed entirely by hand and…

This photograph was taken while Maude Welch was demonstrating pottery at the 1949 Craftsman's Fair of the Southern Highlands. Maude French Welch (1894-1953) was born near Cooper's Creek in the Birdtown section of the Qualla Boundary. Her pottery…

This photograph was taken at the home of Will West Long (1870-1947) when he was interviewed in December of 1946 by W. N. Fenton and Lester Hargrett. At their request, Long demonstrated the making of a traditional wooden Cherokee dance mask. Long…

Rachel Taylor (1922-1981) was born into a family of basket weavers. Her mother was Julia Ann Ned Taylor (1902-1991), an elder and traditional teacher among Cherokee basket weavers. Julia Taylor taught her four daughters how make baskets and all…

Cherokee craftworker Rowena Bradley is shown in this photograph surrounded by baskets that she made. In her lap are strips of rivercane, the material that she used to construct the baskets. To the left is a very large single weave basket; the other…

Cherokee craftworker Rowena Bradley is shown in this undated photograph, weaving a rivercane basket held in her lap. To keep the cane pliable, she soaks it in a bucket of water. Two unfinished baskets sit beside her. The basket pattern at left is…

It is not known who made this undated historic photograph of Nancy Bradley working out-of-doors in front of her home. Surrounded by piles of rivercane with which to make baskets, Bradley is shown trimming the cane. Few baskets made by Nancy George…