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May Issue 2005
2005 Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Awards Announced
A ceremony honoring this year's
recipients of the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award was held
at the State House in Columbia, SC, at noon on Apr. 27, 2005.
The award, established by the South Carolina General Assembly
in 1987, recognizes outstanding practitioners of traditional arts
that have been passed down through generations of South
Carolinians.
The McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina and the SC Arts Commission administer the awards process; an advisory panel appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House of Representatives selects the winners. The recipients of the 2005 Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award are:
Nancy Basket, Native Basketmaker
(Walhalla)
Eugenia P. Deas, Gullah Storyteller (McClellanville)
Cootie Stark, Carolina Piedmont Blues Musician (Greenville)
Charles Summer, Old Time Fiddler (Buffalo)
Dr. Jack Doyle, Advocate for Traditional Storytelling (Sumter)
Nancy Basket is the descendant
of Margaret Basket, a Cherokee basketmaker in Virginia in the
mid-1800s. Even though Basket grew up in Oklahoma close to her
Cherokee grandmother, she did not learn to make baskets from her.
It was when she lived as an adult in Washington State that she
met another Cherokee who sparked her interest in basketmaking.
Basket apprenticed with this individual on traditional Cherokee
style of
basketmaking, while introducing additional techniques from Native
people in the Northwestern United States. She moved to Union County,
SC, in 1989 to be closer to traditional materials such as the
long leaf pine and to be closer to the Cherokee reservation in
Western North Carolina.
Since her move to SC, Basket has
worked with numerous school groups and in many public settings
to promote Native basketmaking techniques. While she works with
principally Cherokee techniques, Basket's work takes from other
Native cultures as well, drawing parallels between the diverse
groups of Native peoples in the United States. Her dedication
to the craft has earned her recognition from organizations
such as the SC Arts Commission and McKissick Museum at the University
of
South Carolina. Basket is ensuring the craft is passed to her
children and grandchildren so this important part of our cultural
legacy is not lost.
The Advisory Committee for 2005 is Craig Stinson of the SC Arts Commission, Chris Scott of McKissick Museum, Lisa Randle, Dean Watson, Leo Twiggs, and Chief Harold Hatcher of the Waccamaw Indian Tribe.
The late Jean Laney Harris, a
member of the House of Representatives, chaired the Joint Legislative
Committee on Cultural Affairs. She was a long-time supporter of
the preservation of South Carolina's cultural
heritage.
For additional information,
contact Craig Stinson at 803/734-8697 or e-mail at (cstinson@arts.state.sc.us).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.