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Cherokee Indian Fair 1940

  • wcu_cherokee_traditions-232.jpg
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  • This program for the 27th annual Cherokee Indian Fair is 29 pages and documents the fair that was held on October 8, 9, 10, & 11 in 1940. The fair was first formally established and held regularly in 1914. Since it began, one of its main functions was to sponsor competitions that provided a showcase for Cherokee crafts. A tradition that continues today, at the annual fair, the Cherokee display a wide variety of high quality work. The fair programs were usually 20 to 30 pages each and listed the competition categories and the monetary prizes offered. Doll Making, Metal Working, and Spinning were added as craft categories in 1940, and a Spinning Contest in which Cherokee craftspeople demonstrated their skill before fair visitors was also first held in this year. The 1940 fair presentations reflected outside expectations as evidenced by the photograph of performers wearing feathered headresses, which were not Cherokee.
Object
  • This program for the 27th annual Cherokee Indian Fair is 29 pages and documents the fair that was held on October 8, 9, 10, & 11 in 1940. The fair was first formally established and held regularly in 1914. Since it began, one of its main functions was to sponsor competitions that provided a showcase for Cherokee crafts. A tradition that continues today, at the annual fair, the Cherokee display a wide variety of high quality work. The fair programs were usually 20 to 30 pages each and listed the competition categories and the monetary prizes offered. Doll Making, Metal Working, and Spinning were added as craft categories in 1940, and a Spinning Contest in which Cherokee craftspeople demonstrated their skill before fair visitors was also first held in this year. The 1940 fair presentations reflected outside expectations as evidenced by the photograph of performers wearing feathered headdresses, which were not Cherokee.