Well-known storyteller and artist Davy Arch will tell Cherokee stories and will demonstrate flint knapping, carving, and mask making at the Cherokee Heritage Festival in Hayesville on Saturday, Sept. 20 from 10am – 3pm. Arch, an EBCI tribal member, is an accomplished artisan and culturist. Using artwork from different mediums, he describes both Cherokee history and contemporary Cherokee life.
Well-known storyteller and artist Davy Arch (seated in gray shirt) will tell Cherokee stories and will demonstrate flint knapping, carving, and mask making at the Cherokee Heritage Festival in Hayesville on Saturday, Sept. 20 from 10am – 3pm. (Photo contributed)
For the first 10 years of his life, Arch and his family lived with his grandfather, who taught him to tell Cherokee stories, practice herbal medicine, and use wild plants for food. While working at the Oconaluftee Living History Village, Arch learned to carve masks from the elder mask maker Sim Jessan.
Davy Arch’s carved masks have been displayed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and his stories have been published in the award-winning book Living Stories of the Cherokee. Arch has served on the boards of the North Carolina Arts Council and the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual. He is a founding member of the Cherokee Potters Guild. Arch is a manager at the Oconaluftee Living History Village in Cherokee. He served as a primary consultant on the Cherokee Homestead Exhibit, assisted in artistic design for the public art wall, and taught flint knapping and mask making at the exhibit for college students. Clan masks, made by Arch, are on display at the Cherokee Cultural Center in Hayesville’s Moss Memorial Library.
In addition to Arch, the Raven Rock Dancers, Cherokee artisans and demonstrators, Junaluska director T.J. Holland, Earthskills Rendezvous founder Darry Wood, flutist Dan Hollifield, author Anna Fariello, metal artist William Rogers, and Miss Cherokee Madison Crowe will share aspects of Cherokee history and culture.
Original works of art will be available for your perusal and purchase. Students may create their own Cherokee-influenced piece of art. Cherokee frybread, hamburgers, hotdogs, and beverages may be purchased. The Old Jail museum houses examples of artifacts found in Clay County and additional examples of Cherokee culture, and will be open during the Festival. Entrance to the festival and museum are free.
This event is being sponsored by Clay County Communities Revitalization Association. The Exhibit is located next to the Old Jail Museum at 21 Davis Loop in Hayesville.
– Clay County Communities Revitalization Association
