Copyright © 2004 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved
News from Cherokee Nation
Copyright © 2004 CNO
TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA – The Cherokee Heritage Center is founded on the precept of keeping Cherokee history and culture alive. This mission is accomplished through the center’s numerous attractions and events, but also through extensive archives and collections facilities. Contained in the walls of the center are many historical items, all of which represent a piece of Cherokee history. Recently, this historical collection has grown thanks to the donation of a loom from Roberta Sloane-Carter of Tulsa, Okla.
The loom, donated by Roberta Sloane-Carter of Tulsa, will behoused at the Cherokee Heritage Center 
“We are grateful for donations to our permanent collection,” said Mary Ellen Meredith, president of the Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc. (CNHS), the parent organization of the Cherokee Heritage Center. “Our collection should be comprehensive and this addition to it is a step in that direction.”
Sloan inherited the family heirloom from her parents. Though she never learned to weave, the loom was always a part of Sloane-Carters life and she has seen it in operation numerous times.
“My mother inherited the loom from my grandfather Sloane. She had it put together by a woman who taught for a school for the blind,” said Sloane-Carter. “When she did that, the woman found on the spindles the remains of the threads from the last time it was used. She wove a piece of cloth from it that I still have. It is very small but very pretty.”
Instead of keeping the loom in her family, Sloane-Carter decided to donate it to the center where it could be utilized.
“I thought it could actually be used by people to perpetuate the craft,” said Sloane-Carter. “I didn’t want it to just languish. If we could make it work again, people could learn how to weave on it.”
Meredith echoed Sloane-Carter’s desire to see the loom used.
“The loom is important to us because preserving culture is important to us,” said Meredith. “The Cherokee artists and craftspeople are our culture bearers. To promote and preserve the culture, we need to have examples of that culture, and we need to do all in our power to showcase the traditional crafts and to train new artists in those crafts. Weaving is one of the areas that requires the most attention. This loom will give us the opportunity to train weavers, and to showcase the importance of weaving to Cherokee culture.”
John Ketcher, CNHS board member and accomplished weaver, hopes to reassemble the loom in order to teach others the techniques of weaving.
“My goal is to teach weaving to people again,” said Ketcher. “A lot of people want to learn. If we have the programs available, people will do it.”
Traditionally, the Cherokee people wove items by hand. It wasn’t until after European contact that they were introduced to the loom.
“They [the Cherokee] set up looms in their homes and made their own works,” said Ketcher. “It was a part of our heritage and that’s what the Cherokee Heritage Center is about.”
Through her donation, Sloane-Carter has ensured that a piece of her family’s heritage will live on.
“It was a treasured item to think about our ancestors who have used it,” she said. “I treasure the piece that came from it.”
The Cherokee Heritage Center is grateful for donors such as Sloan-Carter who help build the center’s collections for the education and enjoyment of generations to come.
For information on donations to the Cherokee Heritage Center, call 918-456-6007 or phone toll free: 888-999-6007.
| Related contact information: |
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Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org
Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager |
Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org
Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation |
