The Catawba, meaning "People of the River", ancestral lands span 144,000 acres along the Catawba River from Southern Virginia to South Carolina. Through a series of exploitative land treaties, the Catawba Nation's territory was reduced to only 700 acres. The Catawba Nation has been in constant struggle against injustices at the hands of the United States Government since colonial times and are still fighting for their protections today. Despite a long history of injustices, the Catawba Nation and its living culture stands as South Carolina's only federally recognized Native American Tribe.
Group Introduction
Connor Johnson: Art and Visual Culture, Art History major with a minor in Studio Art at Appalachian State University
Dulce Becerra: Chemistry Major with a minor in Studio Art at Appalachian State University
Elle Heath: Public and Applied History Major with a minor in Japanese at Appalachian State University
Our group interviewed the Catawba Nation's Tribal Historic Preservationist, Dr. Wenonah Haire, and the Catawba Nation's Language Preservationist, Beckee Garris. We conducted our interview initially over zoom and were able to speak with them again in person. Most of our discussion focused on the stripping away of the Catawba Nation's ancestral lands at the hands of the government. Dr. Haire and Mrs. Garris shared a wealth of information with us about their work within the Catawba Nation and the present-day injustices still facing their tribe.
Click Here To Access Our Interview With Dr. Haire
Pictured Right: Dr. Wenonah Haire
"We finally . . . got it opened back up. But we don't own the land. And very recently, they gave the land to the Catawba Valley Land Trust, which is another thing that infuriates me. It's like people are doing things around us and about us, but without us, you know, it's like, hello, we're here."- Dr. Haire
We were given to opportunity to attend the Yap Yè Iswà Festival (The Day of the Catawba) in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Our group took photos of various events at the festival in hopes of capturing the living culture of the Catawba Nation. We spoke to multiple attendees about various aspects of their regalia and identities as citizens of the Catawba Nation. In our interview with Dr. Haire, we spoke about the erasure of Indigenous groups' culture with government officials going so far as to say that the Catawba Nation was a dead culture. We wanted to show otherwise. Our goal was to depict the Catawba as they are today and their living culture in the 21st-Century. In speaking with members of the Catawba Nation and attending the Yap Yè Iswà Festival, we gained tremendous insight and understanding of Catawba culture that few have the chance to experience. As Dr. Haire stated, it is often the case that, regarding Indigenous affairs, Indigenous groups are often talked around and about, but at this event, we were given the opportunity to hear from the Catawba directly about their own culture and experiences. Our group's focus for the semester was injustices against Indigenous communities and we built up a background of knowledge specifically relating to the Catawba Nation through our interview and a subsequent research paper. This assignment's goal was to move our discussions and understanding from an academic and, excluding our discussion with Dr. Haire, largely indirect context to a direct interpersonal real-world application.
Pictured Right: Men's Grass Dance
The Yap Yè Iswà Festival is one of the few events held by the Catawba Nation with a direct focus on the public. Those in the surrounding communities outside of the Reservation are encouraged to attend the event and experience and learn about the history and living culture of the Catawba.
Upon being invited to the Yap Yè Iswà our group began planning our project. We rented two Nikon DSLR Cameras from Appalachian State's Belk Library for photographing the event. We drove from Boone, North Carolina to Rock Hill, South Carolina, approximately 3 hours, to attend the Yap Yè Iswà. We gathered photos and videos from the event and interviewed multiple of the event attendees. We later compiled the photographs into a collage-style presentation.
The Yap Yè Iswà Festival consisted of multiple traditional dances, drumming, storytelling, and crafts. Many vendors from the community attended the event from both the Catawba Nation and the surrounding communities.
"Master Potters of the Catawba Indian Nation"
Click Here to view Photographs of Catawba potters and their work from the Catawba Nation's Archives
VOICES OF THE CATAWBA
Click Here To Listen To Our Conversations With Attendees Of The Yap Yè Iswà Festival
For more information on the Catawba Nation, visit catawba.com