08/23/2026
Today marks the 80th anniversary of our cooperative. With such a long and distinguished history we can only hope that those of our membership that have passed on are proud that the organization they started is still going, growing and thriving.
There is a concept that the experiences, traumas and cultural knowledge of our ancestors are genetically passed down to us, called blood memory. This is a way for us to have connection to our ancestors through the mediums we each work with. Historical, traditional and contemporary artwork is a visual representation of who we are as Cherokee People through the lens of the artist.
Taking the knowledge from Master Artisans, coupled with the skills we each have acquired, and passing it down to the next generations is a way for us to give back to Qualla Arts & Crafts Mutual and boost the sense of Gadugi (Community) through the creation of our artwork.
As one of our charter members said “Qualla is the best thing our people ever chose to do.” We couldn’t have kept this organization going without the help of our Board of Directors, Membership, Staff, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Grant support, other non-profits, our Cultural Partners, collectors from all walks of life and art appreciators. From the bottom of our hearts Equa Sgi! (Huge thanks!) We are very grateful for the support of each and every person over the last 80 years, let’s see what we can all do together to keep the oldest Native American Arts and Crafts cooperative going another 80 years!
Photographs are courtesy of Qualla Arts & Crafts Mutual archives and the National Archives and Records Administration Washington DC
