VOA标准英语2010年-Cherokee Art Flourishes in Hard Times

In hard economic times, like the Great Depression of the 1930s, cash-poor Americans did what they could to make a living. Craftspeople found that durable¹, practical and beautiful handmade items were always in demand.

Something similar appears to be happening today, during what's being called the Great Recession. Americans are showing renewed appreciation² for the value and beauty of handcrafted objects.

A Native American art cooperative that was born out of the Craft Revival³ of the Great Depression is now benefiting from the Great Recession.

Renewed appreciation

Business is good at Qualla Arts and Crafts in Cherokee, North Carolina, although you wouldn't think so from the sparse⁴ crowd browsing⁵ the store's native handcrafts.

 

Gone are the busloads of tourists dashing in to buy Indian beads⁶ and other cheap vacation souvenirs. In their place are serious collectors willing to pay premium⁷ prices for handmade native artwork.

According to Anna Fariello - an authority on Appalachian Art at Western Carolina University - the same thing happened during the early 1900s, as a nation of farmers evolved into a nation of factory workers.

"The nation then, you know, became a little nostalgic and began to look back at what they perceived of as a fading way of life," says Fariello.

Economic impetus⁸

Largely untouched by the industrial revolution, the Appalachian region of the Southeastern United States became the focus of that nostalgia⁹.

Suddenly, authentic¹⁰ mountain-made baskets, brooms, and bowls were all the rage in places like New York and Chicago. Social reformers and the government saw supporting local handcrafts as a path toward economic development in one of the nation's poorest regions.

"Part of the issue is that there were fewer jobs in the region and how could the government address that?" says Fariello. "And so, a lot of these small, private cottage industries sprang up and allowed young people to remain in the region and earn a bit of money."

That was Davy Arch's experience. The 52-year-old Cherokee artist's creations emerged directly from the common handcrafts of his childhood.

"We heated and cooked with wood, so wood lore¹¹ and tool use was just a part of everyday life," he says. "And I started making utilitarian¹² products like spoons and dough¹³ bowls and things like that when I was really young, probably six or eight years old, when I started just playing around with that kind of thing."

Protecting their heritage

Arch is a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which formed Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual¹⁴ in 1946 in response to the increased interest in native handcrafts.

He says the Cherokee saw the Craft Revival as a way to make money while also protecting their heritage.

"Indigenous¹⁵ people all over are facing some of the same problems we are here, with losing their cultural identity because of assimilation into mainstream¹⁶. So, this has been the hub of keeping a lot of traditions alive."

A good example is the Cherokee double-weave basket; an especially strong, basket-within-a-basket design. As far back as the 1700s, European explorers commented on the high quality of Cherokee baskets, but over the generations, the complex weaving technique was nearly lost.

"It got down to just three or four people being able to do that, and we held a class here at the Co-op and now there's about 30 people that can make those baskets," says Arch. "And I'd say about eight or 10 that are producing them for the resale market. So we've really, through the co-op here, and this extended community, revived and saved that art form."

Helping¹⁷ hand

The cooperative also helps members find the natural materials they need to create authentic art.

For example, they've begun noting the GPS coordinates¹⁸ of river banks where good potting clay can be found. The co-op had also started planting the increasingly scarce river-cane used in traditional basket weaving.

"It grows easily," says Tonya Carroll, Qualla Arts Outreach Coordinator¹⁹, "but with all the development it's scarce and it's been hard to find and we've worked with them in order to locate areas it has grown to actually try to grow it."

Carroll says the Coop's efforts are paying off. A couple of Cherokee teens at the local High School have learned to make double-weave baskets.

"We have adults that find it complicated to do. So seeing those 16 and 17 year olds have those baskets that was just beautiful...they were woven tightly and the designs were very complicated and I was just blown away."

Fariello, who directs The Craft Revival Project at Western Carolina University, agrees that the cooperative is more than an art gallery.

"The fact that an organization like Qualla Arts and Crafts has this lengthy²⁰ history, speaks to their success in terms of creating a sustainable organization to, in fact, sustain these traditions."

The market for handcrafts may ebb²¹ and flow, but Fariello says organizations like Qualla Arts ensure that traditional crafts - and the skills to create them - will be around whenever Americans start to grow nostalgic for them again.

 

1 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

2 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

3 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

4 sparse   

adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的

参考例句：

• The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
• The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。

5 browsing   

v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息

参考例句：

• He sits browsing over[through] a book. 他坐着翻阅书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Cattle is browsing in the field. 牛正在田里吃草。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

7 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

8 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。

9 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

10 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

11 lore   

n.传说；学问，经验，知识

参考例句：

• I will seek and question him of his lore.我倒要找上他，向他讨教他的渊博的学问。
• Early peoples passed on plant and animal lore through legend.早期人类通过传说传递有关植物和动物的知识。

12 utilitarian   

adj.实用的，功利的

参考例句：

• On the utilitarian side American education has outstridden the rest of the world.在实用方面美国教育已超越世界各国。
• A good cloth coat is more utilitarian than a fur one.一件优质的布外衣要比一件毛皮外衣更有用。

13 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

14 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

15 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

16 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

20 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

21 ebb   

vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态

参考例句：

• The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
• They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。