Sharlotte Kathleen Neely is an American anthropologist who is known for her research on Native North Americans, especially the Cherokee Indians. As of 2017, she was Professor Emerita of Anthropology at Northern Kentucky University. In 2024 the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council awarded her the title Honorary Cherokee.
Sharlotte Neely | |
|---|---|
 Sharlotte Neely, Anthropologist | |
| Born | Sharlotte Kathleen Neely August 13, 1948[1] Savannah, Georgia, USA |
| Other names | Sharlotte Neely Donnelly |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Thesis | Ethnicity in a Native American Community (1976) |
| Doctoral advisor | John J. Honigmann |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | Northern Kentucky University |
Early life and education
editSharlotte Kathleen Neely was born in Savannah, Georgia on Friday the 13th of August 1948 the only child of Joseph Bowden Neely and Kathleen Bell Neely. Her father nicknamed her “Sharkey.” The family lived in Savannah until 1962 when they moved to the Atlanta area. Neely is a graduate (1966) of Druid Hills High School in Atlanta.[2]
She earned her B.A. degree in anthropology from Georgia State University in 1970 and her M.A. (1971)[3][4] and Ph.D. (1976)[5] degrees in anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[6] At UNC-CH Neely was a student of anthropologist John J. Honigmann. [7] She joined the faculty at Northern Kentucky University in 1974 and retired in 2017 as professor emerita. At NKU Neely served as both Anthropology Coordinator and Native American Studies Director. [8]
She was President of Anthropologists and Sociologists of Kentucky from 1979 until 1980.[6]
Career
editNeely's topics of study include ethnicity, indigenousness, gender roles, social organization, the origins of human behavior and institutions, and ethnohistory. Neely’s very first publication was in the American Anthropologist while still a first-year graduate student.[9] Her most recent is the book, Native Nations: The Survival of Indigenous Peoples, co-edited with Douglas W. Hume. [10]
Neely started investigating Snowbird Cherokees in the 1970s[11] and published her book Snowbird Cherokees: People of Persistence in 1991. The book is an ethnographic study of Snowbird, North Carolina, a remote mountain community of Cherokees who are regarded as simultaneously the most traditional and the most adaptive members of the entire tribe. The book led to a documentary film of the same name,[12] which won multiple awards.[13][14] In 2021 Neely was honored with a 30th anniversary edition of her book. The foreword of that edition was written by Trey Adcock (Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma) and Gill Jackson (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, North Carolina). [15]
She has also written a science fiction book, Kasker,[16] under the name Sharlotte Donnelly.[17]
Selected publications
edit- Neely Williams, Sharlotte (1971). "The Limitations of the Male/Female Activity Distinction among Primates: An Extension of Judith K. Brown's "A Note on the Division of Labor by Sex"". American Anthropologist. 73 (3): 805–806. doi:10.1525/aa.1971.73.3.02a00240. ISSN 0002-7294.
- Neely, Sharlotte (1975). "The Quaker Era of Cherokee Indian Education, 1880-1892". Appalachian Journal. 2 (4): 314–322. ISSN 0090-3779. JSTOR 40932066.
- Neely, Sharlotte (2021). Snowbird Cherokees : people of persistence. ISBN 978-0-8203-6092-8. OCLC 1308672109.[18][19]
- Neely, Sharlotte (2017). Native nations : the survival of fourth world peoples. ISBN 978-1-926476-17-9. OCLC 974489802.[20]
- Neely, Sharlotte (2011). "Wolves and Monogamy: A Comment on Shipman". Current Anthropology. 52 (3): 435. doi:10.1086/659843. S2CID 142484851.
Honors and awards
editIn 1976 the American Association of University Women recognized her for her potential for achievement.[21] While at Northern Kentucky University , she was named Outstanding Professor in 1994,[22] recognized by the alumni association in 1996 with the Strongest Influence Award,[23] and by the student body in 1998 with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Award.[24]
References
edit- ^ "Collection Title: Sharlotte Neely Collection on the Snowbird Cherokee Indian Community, 1971-1974".
- ^ Druid Hills High School. Saga (Atlanta, Georgia: 1966). Accessed on 1/15/23
- ^ Neely, Sharlotte (1971). The role of formal education among the Eastern Cherokee Indians, 1880-1971. www.worldcat.org (Thesis). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ "Mrs. Williams earns M.A. degree from UNC". The Chatham Record. 1972-01-13. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ Neely Williams, Sharlotte (1971). Ethnicity in a narrative American community. www.worldcat.org (Thesis). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ a b VanBenschote, Amanda (March 18, 2003). "Sharlotte Neely a 'Who's Who' at Northern and the rest of America". The Northerner. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ Neely Williams, Sharlotte (1971). Ethnicity in a narrative American community. www.worldcat.org (Thesis). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ "Former Faculty". inside.nku.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ Williams, Sharlotte Neely (1971). "The Limitations of the Male/Female Activity Distinction among Primates: An Extension of Judith K. Brown's "A Note on the Division of Labor by Sex"". American Anthropologist. 73 (3). Wiley: 805–806. doi:10.1525/aa.1971.73.3.02a00240. ISSN 0002-7294.
- ^ Sataraka, Jeremiah (2016). "Native Nations: The Survival of Fourth World Peoples ed. by Sharlotte Neely". The Contemporary Pacific. 28 (1). Project Muse: 263–265. doi:10.1353/cp.2016.0013. ISSN 1527-9464. S2CID 162796431.
- ^ Ellison, George (1992-01-02). "New book offers many insights into Snowbird". Asheville Citizen-Times. p. 37. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ Kiesewetter, John (1995-09-06). "Cherokee Nation". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 16. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ "More honors". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1996-04-17. p. 32. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ "Clipped From The Cincinnati Enquirer". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1997-08-16. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ Neely, Sharlotte (2021). Snowbird Cherokees : people of persistence. ISBN 978-0-8203-6092-8. OCLC 1253353448.
- ^ Donnelly, Sharlotte (2005). Kasker. [Martinsville, Indiana]: Airleaf Publishing. ISBN 1-60002-017-8. OCLC 63179572.
- ^ "Neely, Ph.D., Sharlotte". BenBella Books. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ Reviews of Snowbird Cherokees
- Anderson, William L. (1993). "Review of Snowbird Cherokees: People of Persistence". Ethnohistory. 40 (1): 108–110. doi:10.2307/482165. ISSN 0014-1801. JSTOR 482165. S2CID 145532616.
- Walker, Willard (1994). "Review of Snowbird Cherokees: People of Persistence". American Anthropologist. 96 (3): 736–737. doi:10.1525/aa.1994.96.3.02a00400. ISSN 0002-7294. JSTOR 682333.
- Duncan, Barbara R. (1993). "Review of Snowbird Cherokees: People of Persistence". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 77 (1): 220–221. ISSN 0016-8297. JSTOR 40582695.
- ^ Shoemaker, Nancy (1993). "Review of Snowbird Cherokees: People of Persistence". American Indian Quarterly. 17 (3): 435–436. doi:10.2307/1184922. ISSN 0095-182X. JSTOR 1184922.
- ^ Review of Native Nations
- Sataraka, Jeremiah (2016). "Native Nations: The Survival of Fourth World Peoples ed. by Sharlotte Neely". The Contemporary Pacific. 28 (1): 263–265. doi:10.1353/cp.2016.0013. ISSN 1527-9464. S2CID 162796431.
- ^ "Kentucky People". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1976-03-14. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ "Researcher honored". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1994-05-21. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ "Achievements". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1996-12-17. p. 31. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ "NKU professor gets King service award". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1998-02-01. p. 29. Retrieved 2022-12-05.