By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Several years ago, Louise Goings told me that she has made literally thousands of baskets during her life. Her work is outstanding, and she has received various honors over the years for her outstanding artistry, and she is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.
Now, she’s received a prestigious fellowship honoring traditional art.
The Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) has announced its Taproot Fellows for 2025, and Goings, an elder of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is one of 25 traditional artists named.
Louise Goings, an elder of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is one of 25 recipients of a 2025 Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) Taproot Fellowship. She is shown at the Kananesgi Art Show & Market held at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, N.C. on Nov. 5, 2022. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
She said in a statement, “Being selected as a Taproot Fellow is an honor because it recognizes the deep roots of our traditions. Basket making is more than a craft, it carries our history, our connection to the land, the knowledge passed down through generations. I take pride in not only creating but also teaching, ensuring that our traditions remain strong in the community.”
Information from ACTA states, “The Taproot Fellowship – already the most extensive fellowship of its kind in the U.S. and territories – honors 25 traditional artists who embody ancestral fellowship and act as community leaders, healers, and agents of cultural continuity. Each Fellow receives $50,000 in unrestricted funding and an additional $10,000 to allocate toward a person or initiative in their community.”
Amy Kitchener, ACTA executive director, said in a statement, “When many institutions are threatened and the social fabric feels fragile, the Taproot Fellows remind us what holds. They are keepers of stories, songs, and sacred practices that have carried communities through generations of upheaval. This fellowship isn’t just about preservation – it’s about power: cultural power. Community power: The kind of power that grows from the roots up.”
Three years ago, Louise and her husband, Butch, also an EBCI tribal elder, received the North Carolina Arts Council Heritage Award.
Goings works on white oak splints during the Kananesgi Basket & Carving Festival at the old Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds in Cherokee, N.C. on Nov. 3, 2018.
At that time, she told me in an interview that she followed in the footsteps of her late mother, Emma Taylor, who won the award in 1989. Louise commented, “Many years ago when my mom won that award, I thought to myself, ‘I will never be able to be that good in the community and be able to be in it’. Then when they called me and told me that I had won it, I said, ‘I never thought I’d be walking in my mom’s footsteps’. It was just a big, big, big, thing for me.”
She also told me about her approach to basket making. ““After you get everything prepared and you get ready to weave, then you can just sit and weave and you can just think about anything you want to think about, go anywhere you want to and it’s just on your time. It relaxes you. I guess it’s kind of like therapy.”
In 2016, Louise and Butch were recipients of the Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award as selected by the First Peoples Fund in Rapid City, S.D.
At that time, she said in a statement, “In our culture, we believe that all things are connected. Therefore, we try to use all the skills and knowledge we have to strengthen our community. Even though we are known for basket making and carving, we also use other skills and knowledge we have to help our community.”
