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With a recent $10,000 donation from Duke Power Company, USC Lancaster begins work to establish a program of study focusing on the Catawba Indians.
"The grant will allow USC Lancaster to involve specialists in Native American Studies from several universities and from several tribes with the goal of developing a program of study that is a model," said John Catalano, USC Lancaster dean." It will also allow us to start a collection of Catawba pottery and to eventually sponsor a Catawba Day activity. We are grateful to Duke Power Company for these providing these funds."
In 2003, Tom Blumer donated to USC Lancaster’s Medford Library an extensive collection of papers, archives, and artifacts, all dealing with the Catawba Indians. The T.J. Blumer Catawba Research Collection contains a wide variety of materials created and collected by the donor over a 40-year period as he conducted his research on the Catawbas and other Native American peoples, with a focus on the pottery of the Catawbas. This is the single largest documentary collection of materials about the Catawbas in existence. The collection also provides the best existing documentation on the life, work, techniques, and products of the Catawba potters, an increasingly important group of artisans.
In 2005, USC Lancaster was awarded a S.C. State Historical Records Advisory Board Grant that has supported the initial organization and classification of the Blumer Collection. The SCSHRAB Grant will allow students and scholars more immediate access to the thousands of materials housed in the Blumer collection. The receipt of the Duke Power grant will enhance development of a curriculum and programming.
"Our region is at an important strategic crossroad right now," said Duke Power's Tim Gause, district manager, Catawba Area. "Decisions are being made concerning numerous issues: land use, water management, and air quality, to name a few, but there is a historical and cultural component as well. It is time to define who we are and what we want to leave in place for posterity. Protecting and interpreting the culture of our region should be a fundamental part of our thinking. This is a wonderful fit for the USC Lancaster campus that is also defining its role in the region. Duke Power recognized these values and wanted to contribute."
Stephen Criswell, who holds a doctorate in folklore from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, joined the faculty at USC Lancaster in fall 2005. He was charged with planning for an eventual program of study in Native American Studies with a focus on the Catawba Indians. Since coming to USC Lancaster, Criswell has met with Blumer, tribe members, and other scholars of Native American culture. USC Lancaster professor Fran Gardner has been asked to chair a faculty steering committee to help plan for a Catawba Indian Studies curriculum.
"As the USC campus with the closest ties, both geographically and historically, to the Catawba Nation, USC Lancaster is in a unique position to develop an academic program in tandem with the Nation and other area academic and cultural institutions that will highlight the history, culture, and on-going traditions of South Carolina's Native peoples," Criswell said. "Duke Power's generous support will help lay the foundation for our work to better understand and appreciate the rich cultural traditions of the Catawbas and other indigenous peoples of South Carolina."
2/06
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From left are Stephen Criswell, professor, USC Lancaster; Tim Gause, Duke Power District Manager, Catawba Area; John Catalano, dean, USC Lancaster; Sandra Magee, Duke Power Community Affairs Manager.
