Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc.

For this, great thanks go to Qualla Arts & Crafts Mutual, Inc., the nation's oldest and foremost Native American cooperative. With the 1940 opening of neighboring Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the postwar growth of highways and family travel, the outside world came to Cherokee as never before. At this point, modern distractions and mass-produced goods might have swept away tribal traditions. Instead, visionary Cherokee craftspeople and leaders saw that Cherokee crafts _ if preserved and promoted _ could strengthen tribal values and provide livelihoods while offering unique beauty to the wider world. Since 1946, Qualla has truly realized this vision. You can see it throughout Qualla's beautifully redesigned artists' gallery store, as you feel the warmth and brilliance of the basketry, pottery, weaving, carving, sculpture and other works of art that surround you. These pieces look and feel different than mall and big-box merchandise because they are different. Here, every craftwork you see is handmade by nameable, knowledgeable individuals who blend timeless traditions with individual expression. No two things are alike, yet all form a harmonious whole.