On this 1974 episode of Sandlapper's Corner, we go on a journey to learn more about the Eastern Cherokee in South Carolina and to dispel some misconceptions about aspects of tribal life.
The story opens on a tourist taking his daughters' picture with an "Indian Chief" who is wearing a feather headdress and is standing in front of a teepee. A Cherokee girl passes them and talks about her tribe and the other 123 smaller tribes that once lived in the area.
The Cherokee were the major Native American tribe in South Carolina, and preserved their heritage and culture differently than other western tribes. Our young host noted that all the tribes have vanished except the Cherokee and Catawba and that the Cherokee live on only a small portion of what once was their native land.
We learn about traditions such as those associated with food, pottery and basket making, and then we visit a celebration, and we learn about their customs and dance traditions.
Sandlapper’s Corner was a children's educational program that began airing on SCETV in the 1970s. Produced by Dr. Sandra G. Thomas, the show was about South Carolina—its people and places, its present and past.
