Public Indians, private Cherokees : tourism and tradition on tribal ground

cover image

Where to find it

Davis Library (5th floor)

Call Number
E99.C5 B37 2009
Status
Available

North Carolina Collection (Wilson Library)

Call Number
C970.03 B368p 2009
Status
In-Library Use Only

Undergrad Library

Call Number
E99.C5 B37 2009 c. 2
Status
Available

Authors, etc.

Names:

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.

Contents

Researching the obvious : tourism and the Eastern Cherokee -- The trail of tourism -- Academic perspectives on tourism and the case of Cherokee, North Carolina -- Eastern Cherokee ingenuity -- Disneyfication on the boundary -- Mass tourism's effects on indigenous communities -- Epilogue: Eastern Cherokee renaissance.

Other details