Eva Wolfe (July 24, 1922 – February 6, 2004) was an accomplished basket maker from North Carolina. Wolfe was known for weaving rivercane baskets, a traditional type of Cherokee basketry. She earned special distinction for her accomplishments in doubleweave basketry, a difficult plaited basket weaving technique. She was honored with a number of awards for her achievements as an artist, including the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award from the North Carolina Folklore Society in 1988 and the

North Carolina Heritage Award The North Carolina Heritage Award is an annual award given out by the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, in recognition of traditional artists from the U.S. state of North Caro ...

in 1989.

Biography

Eva Wolfe (née Awee Queen), was born in the Soco community of the Qualla Indian Reservation. She learned the craft of basket weaving at a young age from her mother, and later studied with her aunt

Lottie Queen Stamper Lottie Queen Stamper (January 4, 1907 – 1987) was an Eastern Band Cherokee basket maker and educator. Early life and education Lottie Queen was born at the Qualla Boundary, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Her parents were Levi ...

, a noted Cherokee basket weaving instructor. According to an interview with Mollie Blankenship, when Wolfe "realized that there were only two older basket weavers who could do rivercane double weave baskets," she decided to focus her energies on preserving this craft. She continued weaving baskets all her life, while raising eleven children on the Qualla Indian Reservation. In order to weave her baskets, Wolfe and her husband Amble would travel 80 miles each April to find and cut suitable

river cane ''Arundinaria gigantea'' is a species of bamboo known as giant cane (not to be confused with '' Arundo donax''), river cane, and giant river cane. It is endemic to the south-central and southeastern United States as far west as Oklahoma and Texas ...

. She would also gather bloodroot and butternut to dye her baskets. She would use a variety of knives to split each cane stalk into four strips to weave into baskets. The doubleweave basket technique requires the weaver to simultaneously weave one basket inside another, creating a flawless surface inside and out. Wolfe would work with as many as 120 cane splits at a time to make one basket, keeping them pliable by dipping frequently in water. Wolfe's work was displayed at an exhibition organized by the

Indian Arts and Crafts Board The Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior whose mission is to "promote the economic development of American Indians and Alaska Natives through the expansion of the Indian arts and craft ...

an
Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc.
in 1969. In 1980, her work was part of an inaugural exhibition at th
Appalachian Center for Crafts
in Tennessee. In 1978, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded a grant for the creation of an exhibition of her work. Wolfe won numerous awards for her artistry and craftsmanship. In 1968, her work placed first in an exhibition sponsored by the

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

. In 1988, she was awarded a Brown-Hudson Folklore Award from the North Carolina Folklore Society, and in 1989 she won the

Death

Wolfe died on February 6, 2004, in

Cherokee, North Carolina Cherokee ( chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, translit=Tsalagi) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Swain County, North Carolina, Swain and Jackson County, North Carolina, Jackson counties in Western North Carolina, United States, within the Qualla Boundar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, Eva Native American basket weavers 1922 births 2004 deaths Cherokee people on the Baker Roll Native American people from North Carolina Weavers from North Carolina 20th-century American artists 20th-century American women artists Eastern Band Cherokee women artists American women basket weavers American basket weavers 20th-century Native American artists 21st-century Native American artists 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women