Heritage Activities

Keeping people mindful of their heritage has always been a strong component of Hindman Settlement School’s progressive educational philosophy.

Unlike many missionaries of the time, who sought to convert local people to their own ways, the Settlement School’s founders were impressed with the qualities and abilities of local people and sought to preserve local traditions. They became avid collectors of mountain crafts and were among the first to begin recording the words to traditional ballads that had been preserved through generations of mountain families.

The Settlement's current efforts to preserve local heritage range from supporting a Folk Arts Education program to operating a crafts consignment shop and promoting regional artisans. The menu to the right will take you to specific cultural programs.