OCTOBER 27, 1921

EASTERN CHEROKEE POTTER AMANDA SWIMMER BORN

Amanda Mabel Sequoyah was born in Big Cove on the Qualla Boundary in North Carolina. She taught herself to form and fire pots after discovering a deposit of clay near her home and sold her first pots to tourists. At age 36, Swimmer began working at the Oconaluftee Indian Village where Mabel Bigmeat taught her Cherokee pottery-building methods. Amanda demonstrated pottery-making there for over 35 years and was instrumental in reviving historic Cherokee pottery techniques. She did not use a potter’s wheel but shaped her pottery only with her hands. The final color was determined by the type of wood that she used in firing. Awards and honors include: North Carolina Heritage Award (1994); Mountain Heritage Award, Western Carolina University (2009); and “Beloved Woman,” Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (2018)—the tribe’s highest award. Swimmer died in Big Cove on November 24, 2018.

Sources:
Ana Fota, "Amanda Swimmer, Potter and Keeper of Cherokee Traditions, Dies at 97," New York Times, 12/6/2018.  Retrieved 12/22/2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/06/obituaries/amanda-swimmer-dead.html  
Wikipedia
Photo: Jim Kaftan, National Park Service, 2/22/2014.  Public Domain. Source: Bald Eagles Return to Cuyahoga Valley (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)