Cherokee Indian Art Market

In our fast paced world it is difficult for many people to find the time or the interest to stop and read anything much longer than a one-liner Facebook update, so I am thanking all my blogging friends for having come to my blog this past year and taking time to read and comment on my posts. I appreciate it very much.

Spring has arrived. Below is a tree full of flowering buds in a street not far from our home. We had a dogwood tree but last year a large pine tree fell on it during a violent storm.




Last July we visited the Cherokee Indian Reservation and I wrote four posts on our stay there – see Staying at the Cherokee Indian Reservation, Oconaluftee Mountain Farm Museum, In and Around the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina and Bears on the Cherokee Reservation.



The Cherokee Indian Reservation is located in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, about 3 hours from Atlanta, Georgia. This Reservation of 56,000 acres is called the Qualla Boundary. In 1735 the Cherokee Nation inhabited 64 towns and villages on 140,000 square miles. Now it is home to more than 13,000 members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The capital, Cherokee, has many special events, motels, hotels, restaurants, a casino, a museum, a historical village, shops, a theater, outdoor sports and fishing tournaments in the Cherokee Tribal fishing waters. The Oconaluftee River passes through downtown Cherokee. We walked on the park bordering the river and watched fishermen and people wading in the water.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

Walking on moss under a canopy of oak and sycamore we came upon a path lined with tall bamboos. Once surrounded by these tall bamboo branches it was very quiet and dark; the outside world seemed to disappear - apart from a couple of Red Headed ducks.

Then we drove toward the center of town and parked. We could hear some peeping and looking up saw a small birds nest on top a flood light. Do you know what kind of birds these are?




The Cherokee Indian Art Market was in progress with more than fifty nationally recognized, juried craftspeople and artisans from around the country. This is one of the southeast‘s largest Native American art markets. The arts and crafts on display included some traditional pottery, wood and stone carvings, jewelry, paintings and more. The event was under a large tent.



Below are beautiful baskets –


Knives, pottery, sculpture and beaded work –



The gentleman below won first prize in its category for his triple flute handcrafted of cedar, butternut and walnut. It is inlaid with malachite and copper. He gave us a demonstration – the flute was beautiful and really had a sweet sound.



Many pieces of art made by Native People were for sale –

Click on images to enlarge them

The type of clothing below is what the Cherokee Indians wore after they had contact with European pioneer immigrants.



Outside the tent we met a Cherokee dressed in traditional regalia dating from before they met the first Europeans.



I met the Junior Miss Choctaw, from Oklahoma,



and the Miss Cherokee. They graciously agreed to pose for me.



Some handsome Cherokee Indians were walking by; they also let me take their pictures.



There were plenty of interesting things going on for me to capture with my camera. Story tellers had group of children gaping at their accoutrements and displays.

Don't forget to click on the pictures to enlarge them

Native Americans and non-natives were strolling in and out of the market, waiting for the Totonac Pole Flyers.

It was quite warm, so we decided to go by the river and rest. That gave me time to read all about the Totonac Pole Flyers. I’ll tell you about them in my next post.