Catawba people
Her funeral was held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the Catawba Indian Nation reservation. Gilbert Blue, the former Chief of the Catawba from 1977 to 2007, was raised with Harris' children. He paid tribute to Harris telling a reporter, "I spoke with her about her position as the oldest several times, and she held that to be important… Bertha Harris recognized what her status as the oldest meant, and not only did it make her feel something good and important, it made all of us feel good." Present Catawba Chief Bill Harris, her great-nephew, also paid tribute to her noting, "Of the Catawba people, of the people who have been here on this patch of ground for all these centuries, she was the oldest among us… That is truly a remarkable idea–that a person was the oldest of all of us on the entire earth. That was always for her and all of us a great, even sacred, honor." She was survived by five of her seven children: three daughters and two sons.