Native American Studies Quarterly News Winter Edition 2019

Winter Edition 2019Volume 9 Issue 4Native AmericanStudies QuarterlyContentsDirector's Column .2Save the Mastodon! .3The Diversity of Representations at theNASC .4-615th Annual Native American StudiesWeek .7-8Lunch and Learn Series Ends Year on"Frosty" Note .9-10Center Hosts Seventh Annual WinterFestival .11-12New and Upcoming Exhibits .13-14Student Volunteer Spotlight: CynthiaCurtis .15-16Staff News .16Recent Events .17Recent Donations .18Upcoming Events .19-20The Center's Information .21Follow The Center on Social Media!News and Photo Editor :Christopher JudgeDesign and Production Editor :Elisabeth StreeterFeature Writer and Copy Editor :Ashley Lowrimore

Director's Column2As I write this piece, it’s the first week of November, Native American Heritage Month. I am sometimesasked why we don’t do more for November here at the Native American Studies Center. On the onehand, our faculty are often busy during the month giving talks and presentations around the region.On the other hand, for us at the Center, every month is Native American Heritage Month!Of the many happenings around the Center this November, we were pleased to welcome UofSCPresident Bob Caslen and First Lady Shelly Caslen for a quick tour of our galleries, Special Collections,and Archives. We enjoyed touring the Caslens around our one-of-a-kind facility and we hope they willvisit us again in the future.As you’ll see in the pages that follow, the coming months will be busy ones here at the NASC. Inaddition to Nancy Basket’s on-going artist residency, our annual holiday art and craft sale is coming upin December, new exhibits will be complementing current ones in our galleries, and Lunch and Learnlectures and Professor Judge’s public archaeology lab continue.We are also looking forward to our 15th Annual Native American Studies Week, March 20-26. Ourtheme this year is Humor, Satire, and Parody in Native American culture. We’ve invited two Nativeartists, Christopher Olszewski and Tom Farris, to share and discuss their work. Both artists are known fortheir satirical artwork that offers commentary on Native and non-Native issues from a place of humorand wit. Farris is a past NAS Week guest whose paintings satirizing Andrew Jackson, Donald Trump,and Indian motorcycles were quite memorable. I met Chris Olszewski at a Native American art event atUofSC’s McKissick Museum several years ago and have been looking for an opportunity to bring him toLancaster. His work is delightfully irreverent yet quite enlightening. We will also be screening “PowwowHighway,” the landmark 1989 film starring A. Martinez and the incomparable Gary Farmer, and I’ll betalking about trickster tales and will be inviting long-time friend of the NASC Beckee Garris to share somestories with us. We hope you will be able to join us for some or all of these events.So stop by and visit for Native American Heritage Month or December or January or anytime of the year!- Stephen Criswell

Save the Mastodon!3

4The Diversity of Representations at the NASCThe Diversity of Representationsat the NASCBy Ashley LowrimoreHoused in a 15,000-square-foot state-of-the-artfacility, with 6,500 square-feet of exhibit andgallery space bringing together art, archaeology,Archives, folklore, history, and language, theNative American Studies Center is not only aresource for USCL students but also for thecommunity.Throughout the year, one can see numerousschool groups, clubs, or civic organizations touringthe galleries or visitors attending our specialevents that are free and open to the public.One can volunteer for the community ArchaeologyLab that’s held weekly during the school semester;study an Archive full of books about NativeAmerican peoples, hear hours of oral histories,and view numerous photographs if needed forresearch; and explore five galleries highlightingIndigenous art and history.The Center also is home to the world’s singlelargest collection of Catawba Indian pottery, butthere’s so much more to see and experience.Special Collections and Campus ArtThe Center is home to Special Collections, USCLancaster’s Art Collections, and beginning inDecember, will house the campus’ PaleontologyCollection.Special Collections holds scholarly collections forUSCL’s Native American Studies that highlightIndigenous artists, artwork, and regalia. Thereare many artistic treasures to be found in SpecialCollections, including the largest institutionalcollection of Catawba Indian pottery; Catawbaregalia, quilts, woodcarvings, stonework,beadwork, basketry and jewelry; Cherokee potteryand beadwork; Pamunkey pottery, woodcarvings,and relief sculpture; contemporary paintings;drawings; and much more.Deer skin and turkeyfeather cape donatedby Michael Dunn andMalery Oxendine.Top photo byElisabeth Streeter.Bottom photo byBrittany TaylorDriggers.“We have workedfor the last fewyears to focuson building therepresentationof artistswithin SpecialCollections,” saidBrittany TaylorDriggers, Curatorof Collectionsand Galleries and USCL Assistant Professor of Art.“As we add new pieces and fill gaps within ourcollections, it is important for Special Collectionsto represent and be relevant, when possible.”A large part of the growth within SpecialCollections is due to donations from artists andcollectors.Since January 2019, several objects have beenadded to Special Collections. Some recentadditions include a large fish trap created by ChiefPete Parr, Chief of the Pee Dee Indian Tribe, anda deer skin and a turkey feather cape donated by

The Diversity of Representations at the NASCMalery Oxendine and Michael Dunn; both artistsand citizens of the Pee Dee Indian Tribe (Dunncreated the cape and materials were donated byOxendine). This summer, Collections acquireda poplar flute designed and created by the lateChief Howard (Gene) “White Bull” Norris, fromthe Piedmont American Indian Association LowerEastern Cherokee Nation of South Carolina, aswell as donations of two full sets of regalia- oneby Elaine Langley and one by Patrick (Pat) Langleyfrom the Eastern Cherokee, Southern Iroquois, andUnited Tribes of South Carolina, Inc.Arts Grant. The new items, along with otherpieces created during her residency, will be ondisplay from February 2020- February 2021.Special Collections is grateful for the supportfrom donors, artists, and area collectors.Regalia piecesdonated by ElsieGoins.Artists: Pat Langelyand Elaine Langely.Photos by ElisabethStreeter.Flute by Chief Howard (Gene) "White Bull" Norris.Photo by Elisabeth Streeter.One new acquisition recently added to SpecialCollections further expands the number ofpaintings the Center owns. Created by OtoeMissouria-Cherokee artist Tom Farris, “OppressionSince 1492” references Native oppression in apop art parody of the Indian Motorcycles logo.The painting, on display in the Native AmericanStudies Week 2018 exhibit “Tradition, Family, &Pop Culture: The Artwork of Jessica Clark and TomFarris,” will be on display next year in the FivePoints Gallery.USCL’s Art Collections highlights local and regionalartists, with works of fine art, folk art, fiber art,photography, and more. Next year, Collectionswill add works from the Center’s sixth and currentArtist-in-Residence, Nancy Basket, who appearsin the annual residency program through a SouthCarolina Arts Commission Folklife and TraditionalQuilt by Catawba artist DeAnn Beck.Photo by Elisabeth Streeter.5

6The Diversity of Representations at the NASCArchivesAnother important component to the Center isthe Native American Studies Archives, which holdsboth Native American, USC Lancaster, and localhistory materials. Founded with the acquisitionof the Thomas J. Blumer Research Collection in2003, the Archives contains the largest groupingof Native American materials in South Carolina.Current holdings donated by Native Americanand academic researchers comprise about 5,500letters, 6,500 slides, 4,000 photographs, over170 hours of recorded oral histories, and nearly1,000 monographs. Historical materials documentNative American groups present in South Carolina.Fish trap created by Pee Dee Chief Pete Parr.Photo by Brittany Taylor-Driggers.While the Archives does not prepare genealogies,Director of Archives Brent Burgin says that familyresearch is a popular topic of inquiry.“I get many requests where individuals want meto help find their Indian heritage, but little or noinformation to go on,” said Burgin. “It helps toknow when the family member died and wherethey are buried. Occasionally I’ll have peoplesearching for their Catawba heritage and I candefinitely assist with that. We have extensiveCatawba genealogical materials.”The Archives’ website lists genealogical resourcesfor those interested in researching family historyamong certain South Carolina and SoutheasternIndian nations. The Archives containsmonographs, Census information, family records,newspaper clippings, and more information onCatawba, Cherokee, Edisto Natchez Kusso, Santee,Sumter Tribe of the Cheraw, and Wassamasawancestry. It also has some information on theMonocan Indian Nation and Pamunkey IndianTribe of Virginia.Recently updated ranges in the Archives allow for a more userfriendly way to find documents. Photo by Elisabeth Streeter.Come experience all the Center has to offer!

15th Annual Native American Studies Week15th Annual Native AmericanStudies WeekBy Ashley LowrimorePlans are underway for an exciting 15th AnnualNative American Studies Week, featuring anart and craft festival, film screening, art exhibitopening, interactive painting demonstration,storytelling, a talk on the trickster character fromvarious oral traditions, and more. The 2020 event,themed “Native Humor, Satire, and Parody,” beginson Friday, March 20 and ends Thursday, March 26.“There’s a wicked sense of humor in Native cultureand there’s a lot of subversive, anti-European,anti-colonial, anti-U.S. government humor, butthere’s also a lot of self-deprecating humor,” saidNative American Studies Director Dr. StephenCriswell. “I think there is that stereotype of anever-smiling, solemn Indian and that’s not agood representation. Part of the Native AmericanStudies’ mission is to dispel stereotypes and I thinkthat’s a big one- to show people that Indians arejust as funny as anyone else. It’s a unique styleof humor that comes from the historical, social,political experience, as most humor does.”During the week, Criswell himself will presentthe lecture, “Tricksters,” a subject featured in hisown folklore and Native American oral traditionsclasses.“The talk is about the trickster figure that’sso prominent in Native culture,” said Criswell.“There’s coyote, tortoise, rabbit, and a human-likefigure called Nanabush that has other names fromthe Great Lakes/Midwest tradition. A trickstertends to be neither good nor evil; they’re sort ofoutside the binaries of the way we see the world.The best example we have in American culture isBugs Bunny.”Those who attend the “Tricksters” talk will betreated to storytelling from Catawba artist andformer Center Visitor Coordinator Beckee Garris.This year, visual artist Chris Olszewski of theSavannah College of Art and Design will startthe week’s activities off with the presentation ofthe March Lunch and Learn. The Center also ispleased to welcome back an artist who joinedus for Native American Studies Week 2018, TomFarris; Farris will present an interactive paintingprogram in the Center’s galleries.Both contemporary artists’ work will be featured inan exhibit opening at the end of Native AmericanStudies Week, where Farris will be on hand tospeak to visitors about his creations.Catawba pottery from artist JoAnn Bauer featured at aprevious art and craft festival.Photo by Ashley Lowrimore.7