Cherokee Heritage Trails

Amanda Swimmer, one of the best-known potters in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, still hand-builds and fresh pots in the traditional manner. She smooths them with river stones, and impresses designs on them with such things as wooden paddles and sea shells. After drying the pieces in the sun, she fires them in an open pit.

Born in 1921 and raised on the Qualla Boundary, Amanda Swimmer taught herself to form and fire pots after discovering a deposit of clay near her home in the Big Cove community. She sold her first pots to tourists that a park ranger brought to her home. At the age of thirty-six, she began working at the Oconoluftee Indian Village, where she learned traditional methods of pottery building from Mabel Bigmeat. Amanda Swimmer demonstrated pottery making at the village for more than thirty-five years, often building more than a thousand pots in a summer season.

Amanda Swimmer's pottery has been nationally recognized and has earned her many awards. Her pots are on exhibit in North Carolina, Washington, D.C., and New Mexico. She received the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1994 and has received prizes at the Cherokee Fall Fair. She continues to teach pottery making at Cherokee Elementary School, passing her tradition on not only to her family, but to today's younger generation. She has demonstrated pottery making and taught classes in schools throughout western North Carolina, at the John C. Campbell Folk School, and at several colleges in Georgia.

She prefers to stay in the western part of the state and always travels with her daughter Merina Myers, who is also a potter and will demonstrate with her. Her demonstrations are appropriate for audiences of all ages, although hands-on classes should be with children 4th grade or older. Fridays and Saturdays are her best days for appearances. Clay needs to be provided for her at the site. Her fee is negotiable, and for hands-on workshops, a $5 fee per student should be added. All travel expenses must be covered additionally.