USC Lancaster to host series that will highlight arts, crafts of Catawba Nation
The University of South Carolina Lancaster Native American Studies Center will host an online series featuring traditional art of the Catawba Indian Nation. The series will start July 12.
These talks will give the public a chance to learn about the Catawbas, whose reservation is in Rock Hill, S.C., just about 25 miles away from Lancaster.
Talks can be viewed on Facebook live, at facebook.com/nativeamericanstudies, or Zoom. Registration links for Zoom sessions will also be on the Facebook page.
Each demonstration will last about an hour.
The series begins at 2 p.m. July 12, with an overview of Catawba history and culture by Catawba Tribal Archivist Ensley Guffrey, a press release says.
On July 14 at 2 p.m., Catawba potter and storyteller Keith “Little Bear” Brown will give a demonstration. A session on July 16 at 2 p.m. will feature reed basket maker Faye Greiner. And on July 17 at 3 p.m., viewers can watch Monty “Hawk” Branhem, a fluke and drum maker.
The final presentation in the series will be July 19 at. 5 p.m. with demonstrations by longleaf pine needle maker Beckee Garris.
This visiting traditional artist series is made possible through a 2020-2021 South Carolina Arts Commission Folklife and Traditional Arts Grant, a press release said.
Artist-in-residence Alex Osborn also will continue his lessons on contemporary Catawba art at USC Lancaster through Aug. 12, with a gallery displaying his work Aug. 27 and 28. Details can be found on the Native American Studies website.
Who are the Catawbas?
The Catawbas have lived in South Carolina for centuries. They became South Carolina’s only federally recognized tribe in 1993.
This year, USC Lancaster has made an effort to educate the public about the tribe, a history that Catawba leaders often say has been forgotten.
“To the non-Catawba community, we have been your friends for generations,” Chief Bill Harris said in an interview in April.
The history of Catawba art is ingrained in the history of South Carolina, Native American Studies Co-Director Stephen Criswell said.
“The pottery-making tradition of the Catawba Nation in York County is the oldest continuous pottery tradition in North America, with artists still making pottery in the traditional manner with clay from around the Catawba River,” Criswell said in a statement. “In addition to ceramics, the Catawbas have long made baskets, drums, flutes, and other traditional arts and crafts.”
