Public Indians, Private Cherokees : Tourism and Tradition on Tribal Ground.

ISBN:

9780817381158

Title:

Author:

Beard-Moose, Christina Taylor.

Personal Author:

Beard-Moose, Christina Taylor.

Edition:

1st ed.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (197 pages)

Series:

Contemporary American Indian Studies

Contents:

Intro -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- 1. Researching the Obvious: Tourism and the Eastern Cherokee -- 2. The Trail of Tourism -- 3. Academic Perspectives on Tourism and the Case of Cherokee, North Carolina -- 4. Eastern Cherokee Ingenuity -- 5. Disneyfication on the Boundary -- 6. Mass Tourism's Effects on Indigenous Communities -- Epilogue: An Eastern Cherokee Renaissance -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.

Local Note:

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2023. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.

Subject Term:

Cherokee Indians-Industries.

Cherokee Indians-Economic conditions.

Cherokee Indians-Attitudes.

Heritage tourism-Economic aspects-North Carolina.

Culture and tourism-North Carolina.

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians-History.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view book

Publication Date:

2009

Publication Information:

Tuscaloosa :

University of Alabama Press,

2009.

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
306.481909756	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ON-DEMAND	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Explores the major economic industry among American Indian tribes--public promotion and display of aspects of their cultural heritage in a wide range of tourist venues

A major economic industry among American Indian tribes is the public promotion and display of aspects of their cultural heritage in a wide range of tourist venues. Few do it better than the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, whose homeland is the Qualla Boundary of North Carolina. Through extensive research into the work of other scholars dating back to the late 1800s, and interviews with a wide range of contemporary Cherokees, Beard-Moose presents the two faces of the Cherokee people. One is the public face that populates the powwows, dramatic presentations, museums, and myriad roadside craft locations. The other is the private face whose homecoming, Indian fairs, traditions, belief system, community strength, and cultural heritage are threatened by the very activities that put food on their tables. Constructing an ethnohistory of tourism and comparing the experiences of the Cherokee with the Florida Seminoles and Southwestern tribes, this work brings into sharp focus the fine line between promoting and selling Indian culture.

Author Notes

Christina Taylor Beard-Moose is assistant professor of Anthropology and Sociology at Suffolk County Community College, Ammerman Campus, in Selden, New York.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Anthropologist Beard-Mouse (Suffolk County Community College) does an extraordinary job examining the role tourism has played in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). She looks at how tourism has been a springboard for the economy of the tribe in western North Carolina, delving into the role tourism plays in the maintenance/revival of traditional arts/crafts, dance, storytelling, language, and other aspects of traditional culture. Of particular interest is her treatment of "chiefing," the domain of Cherokee men who dress in Plains regalia and pose for photos with tourists for a fee. The practice has been decried by Indian and non-Indian alike, but the author notes how it is used to draw in visitors for a good-humored lecture on how Cherokees really dressed, danced, and otherwise lived. In fact, "chiefing" is regulated by the EBCI and is often used to direct visitors to the museum, living history village, outdoor drama, or artists' co-op, venues for the presentation of more authentic Cherokee culture. This volume is most reminiscent of Patsy West's The Enduring Seminoles: From Alligator-Wrestling to Casino Gaming (2008; 1st ed., CH, May'99, 36-5168). Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. C. R. Kasee Winston-Salem State University