Will West Long home

Will West Long home

Cherokee Indians

Manners and customs

Wood-carvers

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 was born in the remote western North Carolina community of Big Cove. Raised in the traditions of the Cherokee, Long attended Hampton Institute in Virginia when he was 25 years old. He lived off the Qualla Boundary until 1904, when he returned to Big Cove, where he remained for the rest of his life. For almost 30 years, Long served on Tribal Council, where he was instrumental in establishing the Cherokee Indian Fair, among other accomplishments. He recorded his knowledge regarding Cherokee medicine, carving, music and dance, and language with the hope of preserving tradition. Long was a consultant for ethnologists, James Mooney, Frank Speck, and Franz Olbrechts. An accomplished mask maker, Long died in 1947.

Unknown

Archive Collection

Hunter Library Digital Collections, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC 28723

1946-12-04

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photographs

StillImage

11077

https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/object/11077

2009-01-08

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Qualla Boundary

Appalachian Region, Southern

2" x 2"(dimension)

Cherokee Traditions