LibGuides: W. Brent Burgin Archives: Gene Crediford Photo Collection

Photography

Pee Dee Indians

Bessie and Tom Hunt. Tom has been a farm laborer all his life for the same employers.

Pee Dee Indians Picking Cucumbers

Blondel Chavis and family picking cucumbers. Tobacco barn in the background. C. 1991.

Santee Chief Oscar Pratt

Pratt on his 100-acre farm with some of his pigs. C. 1985.

Unity PowWow

Unity Pow Wow taking place on the South Carolina State House Grounds.

Smithsonian Collection

A collection of Crediford's works are held in the National Anthropological Archives in Washington, D.C. The "Gene J. Crediford photographs of Native Americans of South Carolina, 1984-1987" collection six mounted color prints and 14 mounted silver gelatins. This group includes images of Pee Dee, Edisto, Santee and Catawba people, Native American churches and religious practices, powwows, pottery and pottery making, and the interior of a home at Four Holes Indian Community.

The Collection

Gene J. Crediford
Crediford was one of the first modern-day academic researchers to work with Native American tribes and tribal groups in South Carolina. For over 25 years he interviewed, photographed and worked with SC Indians. He was a Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of South Carolina and a professional photographer. Research materials consist of photographs, slides, negatives, cassette tapes, correspondence, maps, articles, reports, field notes and various ephemera.

Those Who Remain by Gene J. Crediford
Call Number: E 78 .S6 C74 2009

Through interviews andvphotographs stretching over two decades, Crediford reveals the commonality and diversity among these people of Indian identity.

Those Who Remain: Native Americans in South Carolina 500 Years After Columbus
Call Number: E 99.E3 C733 1990z

Hiding in Plain Sight by Claude Chavis; Gene Crediford (Photographer); David Locklear (Illustrator)
Call Number: E 99 .P35 C43 2012

This is the story of the Pee Dee Indians of the Carolinas from their prehistoric arrival in the Americas to the present.

Contemporary Native Americans in South Carolina : a photo documentation covering the years 1983-1985
Call Number: E 99 .E3 C74 1991

Obituary

Gene J. Crediford
RINGWOOD - Gene J. Crediford, age 86, died peacefully at his home in Ringwood, NJ on August 23, 2020 following a long fight with bone marrow disease. He was predeceased by his wife of 54 years, Ann H. Crediford, and survived by his daughters, Cassie (Jason) Lukasiewicz and Susan Koenig, and grandchildren, Justin and Jeremy Lukasiewicz, Sarah and Tracy Koenig.

Born in Butler, PA on December 1, 1933, Gene was a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan. He served in the US Army during the Cold War Era, stationed in Nuremberg, Germany. He received a BA from West Virginia University, an MA from University of Maryland, and an MFA from Ohio University. After 20 years as a Professor of Photography at the University of South Carolina, he moved to Ringwood to be near his family.

His book, "Those Who Remain: A Photographer's Memoir of South Carolina Indians," was published in 2009. His next book in the series, "The Nuremberg Chronicles: A Professor's Fictionalized Memoir," is not yet published. Gene has a collection of photographs in the National Anthropological Archives of the Smithsonian Institution and was James Dickey's photographer during the Deliverance author's residency at USC.

Besides being a proud dad and grandpa, Gene was a unique and special human being. He was an original hippie who owned several VW vans, ate a mostly vegetarian diet, and loved the planet Earth. He will be remembered for his colorful storytelling, raucous butterfly garden, and the highly disorganized darkrooms he kept over many decades as a photographer.

A memorial service will be held at a future date. Funeral arrangements by the D'Agostino Funeral Home 881 Ringwood Avenue, Haskell, N.J.
Published by The State on Aug. 28, 2020.

W. Brent Burgin Archives: Gene Crediford Photo Collection