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.
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.
Moroni Taylor "Mac" George was a Navy veteran of World War II, and is believed to be the first Catawba to ever serve as a police officer. In the 1950s and early 1960s, he was also a star of the small-town wrestling circuit, where he competed as "Chief Yellowbird." He married his wife, Evelyn McAbbe George, in 1945, while on a 3-day pass from the Navy, and after the war they moved to York, Sc, where Mac worked at cotton mills and service stations, wrestling on the side, until he joined the City of York Police in 1964, where he served for 23 years.
Born in Rock Hill, S.C., Buck was one of five children born to the late Evans McClure George Sr. and Phoebe Messer George. He graduated from Rock Hill High School and attended Clemson University, where he was a football star and still holds some records as a running back. Buck also was drafted by the Washington Redskins. He was retired from Celanese. Buck was an Assistant Chief of the Catawba Indian Nation for 33 years and also served as the Chief. He played a significant part in the restoration of federal status for the Catawba Indian Nation. Buck was installed in the York County Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and recently received the Key to the City of Rock Hill for his work in Parks and Recreation.
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.
Descriptions linked to this authority record are cultural heritage artifacts traditional to the Catawba people. While no specific creator(s) are known, the artifacts are Catawba in origin and the Catawba Indian Nation asserts any and all applicable intellectual property rights to the heritage items in question.