By Emma Castleberry
For eight decades, Qualla Arts & Crafts Mutual has served as both a marketplace and a cultural institution for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, helping preserve traditional arts while creating economic opportunities for generations of Cherokee artists.
Founded in 1946, the cooperative will celebrate its 80th anniversary on Sunday, August 23, a milestone that also cements its place as the oldest Native American art and craft cooperative in the US.
Margaret French, left, with granddaughter Khloe French. At right is a photograph of Margaret, age 4, with her mother, potter Cora Wahnetah. Photo courtesy of Qualla Arts & Crafts
Located in Cherokee, Qualla Arts & Crafts was established at a time when many Cherokee artists struggled to earn fair compensation for their work. By creating a centralized marketplace, the cooperative helped transform traditional craftmaking from a cultural practice with limited economic return into a sustainable livelihood for many artisans.
“In the beginning Cherokee artists received pennies for their crafts,” says Amanda McCoy, manager of the cooperative. “But Qualla Arts & Crafts has helped revive the craft tradition and make it pay, and we did it without help from the government.”
Today, the cooperative showcases traditional, historical and contemporary works created by enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The organization continues to support artists through retail sales, exhibitions and educational efforts while serving as a steward of cultural knowledge and artistic traditions.
“For 80 years our mission has been and will continue to be encouraging quality crafts in both workmanship and design; providing a year-round marketplace; and helping craftspeople secure better pricing for their hard work,” McCoy says. “Qualla Arts & Crafts not only saves and preserves valued objects; it also likewise encourages and preserves the cultural traditions and processes that make these objects possible.”
That emphasis on preservation is rooted in the understanding that art serves as a vehicle for carrying Cherokee history and cultural knowledge forward.
“Historical, traditional and contemporary artwork is a visual representation of Cherokee History through the lens of the artist,” McCoy says. “There is a concept that the experiences, traumas and cultural knowledge of our ancestors are genetically passed down to you, called blood memory. This is a way for us to have connection to our ancestors through the mediums we each work with.”
For the cooperative, ensuring those traditions continue requires both mentorship and community involvement. Artists learn from master craftspeople and then pass their knowledge on to younger generations.
“Taking the knowledge from master artisans, coupled with the skills we each have acquired, and passing it down to the next generations is a way to give back to Qualla Arts & Crafts and boost a sense of community through the creation of artwork,” McCoy says.
Looking ahead, McCoy sees community participation as essential to the cooperative’s future.
“As we move forward into the future, community involvement is crucial to our success, because just like a language it only takes one generation to lose a craft and three generations to gain it back,” McCoy says. “Our goal is to keep the organization going for another 80 years. We won’t be here, but Qualla will go on.”
Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual Co-Op is located at 645 Tsali Boulevard, Cherokee. Learn more at QuallaArtsandCrafts.org.
