Birdie Crowe
1930 -

Birdie Crowe, along with her husband Richard, presented programs for many years on Cherokee culture locally and outside Cherokee.

The following biography from The Cherokee Artist Directory, 2001, Cherokee, North Carolina by Barbara Duncan, Freeman Owle, Amy Davis and Tess Thraves, published by the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in collaboration with the North Carolina Arts Council and the Cultural Resources Division of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is used with permission from the editors.
"For many years, Richard and Birdie Crowe presented programs on Cherokee culture locally and outside Cherokee.  They developed the Cherokee Dancers, the first professional tribal dance group in Cherokee.  With dance, and carving and other crafts, they have inspired and influenced many younger Cherokee performers.

Richard 'Geet' Crowe was born in 1927 and comes from a long line of talented woodcarvers.  'This has always been in our family; I grew up with it,' he says.  'When I was a youngster, say seven or eight years old, I saw my people carving, so I started.  It was just a part of our life.'  Richard Crowe graduated from Cherokee High School and helped to build the theater for the outdoor drama Unto These Hills.  He began acting in the play during its second season and played the role of Tecumseh for the next thirteen summers.  In the early 1960s Richard Crowe moved to New York to pursue acting, playing in such productions as American Primitive and Disney's Davie Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier.

Birdie Crowe, born in 1930, also grew up in Cherokee.  Her parents died when she was still young, and she lived year-round at the boarding school.  She remembers the school as being 'good to them, though they made sure everyone walked the chalk line.  out life was such that we didn't know there was a depression going on,' she says.  'Everything just went on the same as always.'  For Birdie Crowe crafts provide a connection to the past.  'I get a good feeling when I dress our dolls.  I try to think how our grandparents used to dress and live.'

To help others connect to Cherokee culture, Richard Crowe formed a dance troupe with his wife Birdie and family and began presenting cultural program throughout the southeast.  The coupe also set p a small but popular stage show in downtown Cherokee, complete with fry bread, Cherokee dances, fancy dancing, and storytelling.  Richard and Birdie Crowe spent many years presenting programs about history, language, and culture at powwows and schools in the Eastern United States.  When Cherokee dollmaker Joe Owle passed on, Richard and Birdie were asked to take over his work to supply Qualla Arts and Crafts.  Birdie complemented Richard's doll carvings with hand-made clothing and details.  Their dolls have frequently won blue ribbons for superior workmanship at the annual Cherokee Fall Fair, and have also been purchased by many museums and commissioned by private collectors.

Richard Crowe holds the title of Tribal Ambassador for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a life time appointment.  Richard and Birdie Crowe continue to serve and inspire the community in their dedication to the Cherokee language and culture."

Sources:
[Used with permission] The Cherokee artist directory 2001. Research and writing, Barbara Duncan ... [et al.] ; editing Barbara Duncan, Beverly Patterson. Cherokee, N.C. : Museum of the Cherokee Indian in collaboration with the North Carolina Arts Council and the Cultural Resources Division of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, [2001]