Photo courtesy of Gary Carden.

Sights & Sounds

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Types of Artistry

• Cherokee
• Banjo
• Music
• Blowgun and Dart Making
• Dance
• Traditional Songs

Walker Calhoun

Cherokee singer, dancer, banjo player

Cherokee, NC (Qualla Boundary)

Walker Calhoun, respected Cherokee elder, sings the traditional sacred dance songs of the Cherokee, and has played an important role in maintaining and passing on these traditions to the next generation. He leads two traditional dance groups that can accompany him to performances, The Raven Rock Dancers and the Warriors of AniKituhwa. Walker Calhoun also demonstrates how to make the Cherokee blowgun from river cane and how to make blowgun darts from wild thistle. In addition, he plays old-time Southern Appalachian style banjo tunes.

Born in the Big Cove community on the Qualla Boundary, where he still lives, Walker Calhoun learned songs, dances, and Cherokee religious practices from his uncle, Will West Long, who had learned them from Swimmer, a Cherokee medicine man of the late nineteenth century. Following Long's death in 1947, Walker Calhoun and his relatives began teaching ceremonial dances to the younger generation. Through the years, he has continued to practice and teach these traditions. In the 1980s, he formed a family group, the Raven Rock Dancers. In 1988 he brought back the stomp dance as a sacred ceremony for the Eastern Band by sharing knowledge with his counterparts among the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma.

Walker Calhoun received the Sequoyah Award in 1988 in recognition of his contributions to the Cherokee at a gathering of the Eastern and Western Bands of Cherokee. This gathering commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Trail of Tears. In 1990, he received the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award, and in 1992 he received a National Folk Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Two recordings of his songs are available: Where Ravens Roost and Sacred Songs from Medicine Lake.

Availability:

Walker Calhoun prefers to limit his traveling to the region around western North Carolina. Usually his programs include dance demonstrations that last about thirty minutes. A larger or smaller number of dancers can be included. The amount of his fee is negotiable, but, since he depends on family members for transportation, all travel expenses for himself and his traveling companions must be included. His family members also sell beadwork and carvings. Contact him by mail and include a phone number where you can be reached.