During the late 1980s, Early Fred Sanders and Dr. Wenonah George Haire formed the Catawba Cultural Task Force to begin collecting, preserving, and perpetuating the history and culture of the Catawba people. In 1990, this project was organized into the Catawba Cultural Preservation Project (CCPP), housed in the former Catawba Indian School building, which was donated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and subsequently moved from it's original location behind the LDS Church on Reservation Road, to its current location at 1536 Tom Steven Road. When the Catawba Indian Nation (CIN) regained Federal recognition in 1993, the Executive Committee of the CIN formalized the CCPP as the entity officially responsible for the collection, preservation, promotion, and education of and about the history, culture, arts, and language of the Catawba to both tribal members and the general public. The CCPP operated as an independent, non-profit organization until 2020, when it became a division of the tribal government.
WFVT WB55 was a charter affiliate television station for the WB television network located in Rock Hill, SC.
In April of 2020, the Catawba Cultural Preservation Project (CCPP), was incorporated into the Catawba Indian Nation Government as the Cultural Services Division (CSD). The Mission of the CSD is to collect, protect, preserve, and promote the material and cultural heritage of the Catawba Indian Nation. CSD departments include the Tribal historical Preservation Office, the Catawba Cultural Center, the Catawba Community Library, and the Catawba Nation Archives.
The Catawba Indian Nation Cultural Services Division is a division of the Catawba Indian Nation government, formed in April 2020, when the Catawba Cultural Preservation Project (1993-2020) was incorporated into tribal government. Departments of the Cultural Services Division include: the Catawba Cultural Center, Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO), Tribal Programs, Public Programs, Community Library, and the Catawba Nation Archives.
The University of Florida is the oldest and largest university in the state. Its history dates to 1853, when the Kingsbury Academy in Ocala was acquired by the state-supported East Florida Seminary. In the 1860s the seminary moved to Gainesville and later was consolidated with Florida Agricultural College, a land-grant school in Lake City. In 1905 it became the University of Florida and returned to Gainesville.
After graduating from Erskine College, Emma Reid Echols distinguished herself as a teacher, first in Charlotte, NC, then in Rock Hill, SC. Her husband, the Rev. Dr. W. Roger Echols, was pastor of the Neely's Creek ARP Church for over 30 years, and Emma was deeply involved in church service as the children's choir director, and teacher of the women's Bible class. She remained an active member of Neely's Creek ARP Church all her life, even attending Easter service the week before her death.
In 1950, with the help of the Junior Welfare League, she opened the Orthopedic Community School in Rock Hill for people with physical and mental disabilities, where she taught for a number of years. She also helped establish "Camp Joy" for children with disabilities at Bonclarken near Flat Rock, NC, where she served as the storyteller even into her mid-90s. She continued as a popular substitute teacher in the Rock Hill Public Schools until over age 90.
Emma was also closely involvement with the Catawba Nation. As a result of her friendships with the Catawba and knowledge of their history, she was commissioned by the University of Florida and recorded the oral history of the Catawba Indians on over 60 audio tapes and accompanying pictures.
Georgia Harris was born on 29 July 1905 in Lancaster County, South Carolina, not far from the Catawba Indian Reservation. Her father, James Harris was a county-paid ferryman on the Catawba River, and his ferry provided the only way to cross the river from York to Lancaster County. Georgia attended the Catawba School on the Reservation, and began learning pottery at the age of nine from her mother, Margaret Harris, and her grandmother, Martha Jane Harris. Pottery trade grew in importance to the family when James Harris died in 1912, and Georgia, her mother, grandmother, sister, and herself all worked clay and sold pottery. At age 21, Georgia married fellow tribal member, William Douglas Harris and reared 2 sons. Georgia continued to make pottery to sell while raising her family, and as the tribe's economic conditions improved, Georgia was able to make pottery simply out of joy. In 1952, a vessel by Georgia won first prize at the York County Fair. Beginning in 1975 Georgia began teaching pottery to other Catawba citizens, and, in 1977, Georgia joined fellow Catawba artists, including Frances Wade and Doris Blue to form a pottery association to promote the Catawba's traditional potter's craft among modern Catawba. In 1979, Georgia exhibited and demonstrated at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery. In 1997, Georgia was named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment of the Arts. Unfortunately, she passed away on 30 January 1997, before the fellowship could be awarded.
Master Potter Catherine Sanders Canty was born on February 11, 1917 to Idle and Arzada Sanders, and lived most of her life on the reservation. Catherine was a hard worker, an artist, and a collector of many things. She married Billy Canty in 1931, and they started a family two years later. She worked at the J. P. Stevens Cotton Mill for 36 years, and only dedicated herself to up pottery in in her retirement. Recognized as a Master Potter of the Catawba Nation, she delighted in sharing her knowledge of Catawba pottery with school children, and also enjoyed volunteering at the Catawba Cultural Preservation Project. She was known for her specialty effigy, the frog.
Master Potter Mildred Blue was the first member of the Catawba Nation to graduate from high school, and served as a membership roll coordinator for the Catawba Nation. She was a warm, gracious woman, well loved and respected by those who knew her, and an expert pottery teacher.