More on the Catawba Pottery Tradition

The tradition of Catawba Valley Pottery begins in the original home of the Catawba people in the southeastern part of what is now North Carolina. The tradition of this folk-art form began many hundreds of years ago with earthenware practices that have grown into the stoneware practices of today. Over time this practice became more varied in the types of pottery that were made until those who had made the stoneware for most of their life became Artisans.

The more traditional pots are not glazed and they come out of an open fire rather than in a kiln as in most other types of pottery. This tradition still continues however, around 1830 a man who would become an Artisan named Daniel Segal began to experiment with the clay from the river. He is thought to have been taught the art of Catawba pottery by his father. This is where the stoneware started and because he was a perfectionist he ended up making a glossy, greenish glazed type of pot from native Catawba valley clay and with it formed large blub shaped stoneware that raised the bar in many circles of pottery makers at the time.

Today these pots have as many uses as there are sizes shapes and colors to be found in this traditional art that can be purchased by the masses today. Anything from basic, small coil pots to elaborate and brightly colored vessels of great size are bought and sold even on internet sites like Ebay today. The sale of this functional art is traditional as well, Going back to the European colonial era the pottery of the Catawba people was purchased or traded for many things such as iron cooking counterparts from Europe. Early pieces of the earthenware style as well as the later styles can be seen in museums and cultural heritage sites of the Catawba people.

The art form suffered from a decline in the early 1940’s because of the inexpensive, mass made glassware of the time until it had a renaissance in the 1970’s when a resurgence of the old style was again sought after. It was also at this time that many native cultures were having a revival of traditions nearly forgotten including the pottery of the Catawba Nation. Along with the pottery the Catawba people were reviving their nearly dead language and trying to get recognized still by the federal government for recognition as a sovereign nation and to receive some measure of the federal funding that other recognized Native Nations receive. This struggle for recognition and preservation of Catawba traditions means that some piece of what it means to be Catawba is kept and passed on to future generations ensuring the survival of their culture and history for many years to come.

References

http://www.cvpottery.com/catawba_valley_history.htm

Blumber, Thomas J. Catawba Indian Pottery: The survival of a Folk Tradition. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 2004.