Lottie Queen Stamper

Lottie Queen Stamper (January 4, 1907-1987) was an American Cherokee basket weaver and educator.

Lottie Stamper in 1948

Early life and education

Lottie Queen was born at the Qualla Boundary, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Her parents were Levi Queen and Mary Queen. Mary Queen taught all her children to weave baskets, and the family sold handmade white oak baskets to supplement their farming income.[1]

Career

Lottie Queen Stamper learned to rivercane and natural dyes in her weaving after she married into the Stamper family, which included several skilled weavers. She taught basket weaving to Cherokee school students and adult learners for almost thirty years, from 1937 to 1966. Among her students were her niece Eva Wolfe and Rowena Bradley.[2] She learned and taught a rare double-weave basket technique.[3][4] Stamper was a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, and in 1952 was the first Native American to win the guild's lifetime achievement award.[1] In 1959, she also received a lifetime achievement award from the Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board.[5]

Lottie Queen Stamper died in 1987, aged 80 years.[1] Baskets by Stamper and her students were shown as part of "Transformations: Cherokee Baskets in the 20th Century" and exhibition at the Mountain Heritage Center in 2006.[6] Work by Stamper also appeared in "The Story of North Carolina" at the North Carolina Museum of History in 2011.[7]

References
  1. Anna Fariello, Cherokee Basketry: From the Hand of our Elders (History Press 2009).
  2. Susan C. Power, Art of the Cherokee: Prehistory to the Present (University of Georgia Press 2007): 137-141. ISBN 9780820327662
  3. Bonita Freeman-Witthof, "Cherokee Indian Craftswomen and the Economy of Basketry" Expedition Magazine 19(3)May 1977).
  4. Edward L. DuPuy and Clifford Hotchkiss, "Interview with Lottie Stamper, basket maker" (January 14, 1965); transcripts in the Hunter Library Digital Collections of Western Carolina University.
  5. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, press release (July 28, 1959).
  6. "Cherokee Basket Exhibition on Display at Heritage Center through Oct. 29" Sylva Herald and Ruralite (August 31, 2006): 22.
  7. "Historic Crafts Highlight 'The Story of North Carolina'" NC Arts Everyday (November 4, 2011).
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