Native American Heritage Month is celebrated from November 1 through November 30 each year. What began as a day of honoring the first Americans became a full month in 1990 when President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November as "National American Indian Heritage Month. Other variations of the month-long celebration include "Native American Heritage Month" and "National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month."
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Fancy Dances are more lively, colorful, and exaggerated. These dances began in the 20th century as different tribes around the country started meeting through powwows. The dancers shared moves and...
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Traditional Dances have been passed down many generations. The dances often represent a hunter as he stalks his prey, or a warrior looking for his enemies. Many of these dances originated with Native...
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One of the most important parts of a powwow is dancing. Dancers in fancy costumes perform steps to songs of the drum circle. Sometimes different tribes, or Indian Nations, dance together. This is...
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The Drum Circle symbolizes the heart beat of the earth. Thunderous powwow drums, sometimes called community drums, are made of wood and have heads of elk, moose, buffalo, horse, or cow. Native...
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Pictured above is a stone tool found at the Allendale dig in South Carolina. It is believed the tool is 12,000 to 18,000 years old. It is believed that over 12,000 years ago, the first Native people...
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Here are some of the meanings of these names: * Enoree -- River of Muscadines * Santee -- Safety, Protection * Cheraw -- Fire * Chatooga -- Rocky Waters * Tamassee -- Place of the Sunlight of God *...
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Noted South Carolina historian Dr. Walter Edgar discusses the key issues in SC History. The Prehistory of South Carolina is discussed in eight lessons: Native Americans in SC Animals in SC Language of...
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Florence Wade learned to make pottery from her sisters and other family members, including accomplished Catawba potters Sara Harris Ayers and Edith Brown. The Harris family of Catawba potters belongs...
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Evelyn George was designated a master potter of Catawba pottery by the Catawba Indian Nation. Born in 1914, Ms. George learned as a child from her great-grandmother. She was influenced by individuals...
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Boyd S. Hilton (d. 1985), Blackburn, Catawba County. Interview recorded July 1981. Boyd S. Hilton belonged to a family with deep roots in the Catawba Valley pottery tradition. John Wesley Hilton was...
