Cherokee Heritage Trails

Louise Bigmeet Maney offers pottery demonstrations and more general Cherokee cultural heritage presentations, including foodways discussions accompanied by samples for tasting. She and her husband, John Henry Maney, also a potter, work frequently with school groups and adult audiences. Together, they operate the Bigmeet House of Pottery on Route 19 in Cherokee. There they sell their own work and that of other Cherokee traditional crafts people, and also maintain an outstanding display of Cherokee crafts and historical photographs.

Born and raised on Wrights Creek, Louise Bigmeet (a surname meaning, "big meeting place") grew up helping her mother make pottery, some of which they traded for coffee, sugar, and flour. She traces her heritage as a potter through generations of Cherokee women: Louise's mother, Charlotte Welch Bigmeat (an older spelling of the name), and her aunt, Maude Welch, were both prominent Cherokee potters.

After attending Soco Day School and Cherokee Central High School, Louise Bigmeet Maney worked for years as an educator in the local community development program and in the local schools. When she retired in 1987, she returned to making pottery, and she and her husband opened their own shop. All their work is finished using traditional methods. Louise Maney's pottery continues to be in great demand, and has been collected by the Smithsonian Institution.

Louise Bigmeet Maney takes seriously her role as educator. Local school groups and others have discovered that a visit to the Bigmeet House of Pottery provides an educational experience. She is active in the North American Indian Women's Association (NAIWA) and in the Painttown Community Organization. For her work in preserving Cherokee tradition, Louise Bigmeet Maney received the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1998.

Louise Bigmeet Maney prefers to do programs and demonstrations in the western parts of North Carolina, but will consider traveling to other areas. She travels with her husband, and they have more time available during the winter months than during the summer. Her fee is negotiable, and must include compensation for travel.