November 5, 2018 – Spring 2019
Second Floor Lobby

This temporary exhibit features contemporary pottery, baskets, shell carvings, jewelry, clothing, and other items made by members of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. In 1984, the Poarch Creeks became the only federally recognized tribe in Alabama. In the generation that followed, efforts increased to revive the teaching of traditional native arts. Through instruction in basket-weaving, pottery, piecework quilting, clothes-making, and Creek language courses, they have engaged in a decades-long cultural and artistic revitalization. In the spring of 2018, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians opened a new, state-of-the-art community center which includes classrooms to continue teaching traditional arts for years to come.

Artisans from the Poarch Creek visit Montgomery periodically to examine Native American artifacts in the collections of the ADAH. Many of the pieces on view in this exhibit are inspired by historical artifacts made by the ancestors of the Poarch Creeks who lived in Alabama hundreds of years ago.

Press Release