Bertha George Harris

Bertha George Harris (June 29, 1913 – October 14, 2014) was an American Catawba tribal elder and master potter. She specialized in a specific type of pottery unique to the Catawba, which she crafted from river clay without the use of electricity or a potter's wheel.[2] Harris was the oldest living member of the Catawba tribe at the time of her death in October 2014.[2] The Catawba number approximately 2,800 people, presently based in York County, South Carolina, as well the surrounding region.[2][3]

Bertha George Harris
Born
Bertha George

(1913-06-29)June 29, 1913
DiedOctober 14, 2014(2014-10-14) (aged 101)[1]
Rock Hill, South Carolina, U.S.
OccupationPotter
SpouseGeorge Harris
Parent(s)Moroni and Hattie George

Life

Harris was born Bertha George on June 29, 1913, in Lancaster County, South Carolina, to Moroni James George and Hattie Milling George.[4] She lived in neighboring Catawba County and York Counties for the majority of her life. A resident of Rock Hill, South Carolina, she was raised under racial segregation in the American South, in which the Catawba and other Native American groups were considered inferior to whites.[2] She was married to George Furman Harris for 75 years, until his death in 2006 at the age of 95.[2][4] The couple had seven children.[4]

Harris created Catawba pottery and was considered one of the Catawba's master potters.[2][5] Catawba pottery is composed of river clay, which is shaped without the use of a potter's wheel.[2] According to members of the Catawba, she considered it an honor to be the oldest living elder.[2]

Bertha George Harris died on October 14, 2014, at the age of 101, as the oldest member of the Catawba.[2] Her funeral was held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the Catawba Indian Nation reservation.[2] Gilbert Blue, the former Chief of the Catawba from 1977 to 2007, was raised with Harris' children.[2] He paid tribute to Harris telling a reporter, "I spoke with her about her position as the oldest several times, and she held that to be important... Bertha Harris recognized what her status as the oldest meant, and not only did it make her feel something good and important, it made all of us feel good."[2] Present Catawba Chief Bill Harris, her great-nephew, also paid tribute to her noting, "Of the Catawba people, of the people who have been here on this patch of ground for all these centuries, she was the oldest among us... That is truly a remarkable idea–that a person was the oldest of all of us on the entire earth. That was always for her and all of us a great, even sacred, honor."[2] She was survived by five of her seven children: three daughters and two sons.

Frances Wade, who was 92 years old in October 2014, became the oldest Catawba elder following Harris' death.[2]

References
  1. "Bertha Harris Obituary (2014)". The Herald. October 16, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  2. Dys, Andrew (2014-10-15). "Oldest Catawba Indian had 'a truly great soul'". The Herald (Rock Hill). Archived from the original on 2014-11-10. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  3. "Oldest Catawba Indian had 'a truly great soul'". The Charlotte Observer. 2014-10-15. Archived from the original on 2014-11-10. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  4. "Catawba woman celebrates 100th birthday". The Lancaster News. 2013-06-28. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  5. Blumer, Thomas J. (2004). "Catawba Indian Pottery". University of Alabama Press. ISBN 9780817350611. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
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