The exhibit originated at the Cherokee National Museum, which is part of the Cherokee Heritage Center in Tahlequah, Okla. The exhibit’s creation marks the first time Cherokee master artisans from different areas of Cherokee culture have collaborated together to share pottery with the public.

“Cherokee people who have been living in the southeastern portion of North America have had a working relationship with the earth for more than 3,000 years,” said Mickel Yantz, curator for the exhibit. “They took clay deposits from the Smoky Mountains and surrounding areas and taught themselves how to shape, decorate, mold and fire this material to be used for utilitarian, ceremonial and decorative uses. The Cherokee continue to hold this relationship today.”

The concept for the pottery exhibit came from a class that was taught in Tahlequah in 2006. Eastern Band of Cherokees artist Joel Queen and master potter Tamara Beane traveled to the Cherokee Nation and conducted a week-long class to share traditional building, design and firing techniques with Cherokee potters in Oklahoma.

“The class symbolized more than just your average art class,” Yantz said. “The sharing and partnerships that came together continued a tradition of passing a portion of the Cherokee culture from one family member to the next.”

Located on the ground floor of WCU’s H.F. Robinson Administration Building, the Mountain Heritage Center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday year-round, and 2 to 5 p.m. on Sundays from June through October.

For more information about the exhibit or the Mountain Heritage Center, call (828) 227-7129.

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Last modified: Monday, Sept. 22, 2008