Thomas J. Blumer

The Catawba one of the few Native American communities who remained in the Carolinas after the notorious Trail of Tears have a rich and fascinating history that can be dated to 2400 BC. Once the inhabitants of a large swath of land that covered parts of North and South Carolina, most Catawba now live on a reservation in York County, South Carolina. In Catawba Nation: Treasures in History, Thomas J. Blumer seeks to preserve and present the history of this resilient people. Blumer chronicles Catawba history from the first contact with Spanish explorers to their present-day fame as makers of traditional Catawba pottery. In this collection of writings, we learn of Hernando de Soto s meeting with the Lady of Cofitachique, the leadership of Chief James Harris and the fame of potter Georgia Harris, who won the National Heritage Award for her art. Using an engaging mix of folklore, oral history and historical records, Blumer weaves an accessible history of the tribe, preserving their story of suffering and survival for future generations."

When Europeans encountered them, the Catawba Indians were living along the river and throughout the valley that carries their name near the present North Carolina-South Carolina border. Archaeologists later collected and identified categories of pottery types belonging to the historic Catawba and extrapolated an association with their protohistoric and prehistoric predecessors. In this volume, Thomas Blumer traces the construction techniques of those documented ceramics to the lineage of their probable present-day master potters - or, in other words, he traces the Catawba pottery traditions. By mining data from archives and the oral traditions of contemporary potters, Blumer reconstructs sales circuits regularly traveled by Catawba peddlers and thereby illuminates unresolved questions regarding trade routes in the protohistoric period. In addition, the author details particular techniques of the representative potters - factors such as clay selection, tool use, decoration, and firing techniques - which influence their styles. In assessing the work, David G. Moore, of Warren Wilson College, states, ""This book represents an enormous body of work concerned with a significant topic - the persistence of the Catawba Indian pottery tradition. Using his extensive fieldwork and a narrative presentation, the author juxtaposes the evolving ceramic technology with a fascinating discussion of the role of pottery in changing Catawba economy from the 18th and continuing into the 21st century.