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Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Pottery
WCU - Craft Revival

Cherokee Indian Pottery and Bead Maker

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  • This is a postcard of a Cherokee woman, identified as Cora Wahnetah, posing with a bead loom and display of pottery. A member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cora Arch Wahnetah (1907-1986) was also known Cora Wahyahneetah. The description on back of the card states, "Cherokee Indian Pottery and Bead Maker- Cherokee Indian Reservation, N.C." The pottery in the photograph is representative of the kind that was commonly made on the Qualla Boundary at the time this postcard was made. With the improvement of roads making the North Carolina mountains more accessible during the 1920s, tourism became a significant force in the economy of Cherokee and the surrounding area. The increasing number of visitors provided Cherokee craftspeople a ready market for their traditional craft goods such as the pottery shown. In her lap, Cora Wahnetah holds a loom used to make bands of beadwork, another kind of craftwork that became popular in Cherokee craft shops. This postcard also appears in the Photograph Collection of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.

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Craft Revival

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, mountain craftsmen formed the cornerstone of a revived interest in things handmade to create a movement known as the Craft Revival. During the Revival...

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