There were so many things going on behind the scenes for this project! Read a little about these magnificent people and what drew them to this project. Here is a list of the people who made this project happen in various ways!
University of Oregon Students
Jeremya, University of Oregon, Folklore and Public Culture Undergraduate Student:
Hello! My name is Jeremya and I was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, USA. My father is Israeli and my mother is American. My ancestral heritage is in Hungarian, Romanian, and Czech. Much of my family lives outside of the United States on Kibbutz (a communal settlement) Dan, which is located in the north of Israel close to the Syria & Lebanon borders. I grew up visiting this country and my family there. I love writing, music, cooking, and nature. I especially love spending time outdoors with my family, and for me, these fond pastimes have culminated to serve as fundamental building blocks in learning to understand the world. I have a strong interest in the collection of oral histories and personal narratives, believing that we all have an important story to tell, if someone takes the time to listen. In hearing another’s story, we open our perspective by learning from others what we do not know, something new and unfamiliar to our own experience…and that, is the beauty I see in this process.
Anna, University of Oregon, Nursing Major (transfer), Undergraduate Student:
My name is Anna Swanson. I was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon and as much as I love Oregon, I definitely have the travel bug and love exploring different places and cultures.
I recently got accepted in Nursing school and will be transferring to Lane Community College’s program in September of 2020. At the University of Oregon, I have been working on upper division courses to later receive a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Nursing, which led me to be apart of this project!
I have a love for photography, something I would love to pursue on the side, along with travel. The dream would be to live a life of full time travel while capturing this world’s beauty through a camera lens, alongside providing care for a community through a nursing degree. I also have a passion for art, whether it’s through painting, crafting or ‘do it yourself’ projects.
Iris, University of Oregon, Folklore and Public Culture Graduate Student:
My name is Iris Teeuwen (pronounced: E-ris TA-win), I was born in the Netherlands and have moved around most of my life. I am currently a Graduate student at the University of Oregon in their Folklore and Public Culture Master’s program. I received my Bachelors of Science in Anthropology and a minor in Philosophy at Portland State University, and someday I hope to get my Doctorate. My current research interests are on European children’s holidays, specifically on the Sinterklaas holiday in the Netherlands and the controversy over Zwarte Piet. Outside my education, I’m interested in photography (https://www.iristeeuwenphotography.com/), art, crafts, film, and travel.
Rose, University of Oregon Masters of Nonprofit Management Student and Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies Student:
My name is Rose Sleanbeck, I am 33 years old. My cultural heritage is I am an American of European decent, specifically mostly German with Lithuanian and other Eastern European ancestry. I grew up in Northern California, in El Dorado County in a small town called Cameron Park and then later Placerville. I lived for 10 years in Portland with my husband from right after we were married in 2008 until we moved with our infant daughter to Eugene in 2018. I am interested in this course because I am fascinated by folklore, material culture, exploring identity and place, group cohesion and the connections between identity, group identity and material culture.
Alia, University of Oregon, Folklore and Public Culture Graduate Student:
Greetings, my name is Alia. I am a second year graduate student in the Folklore and Public Culture program. My research comprises changing death traditions and celebrations of life in the US. I am also interested in antiques, art, art history, craft[ing], design, cinema, photography, archives, theatre and cultural arts. Upon completion of my masters degree at UO I will be continuing on to the School of Information and Library Science graduate program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Oregon Artists
Hi… Qa’pai… I’m Esther Stutzman and I live in a rural area near the very small town of Yoncalla south of Eugene, Oregon.. We have a population of about 1000 people . I feel very fortunate to live here because it is the same land my ancestors have lived on for thousands of years. I am Komemma Kalapuya (from the Willamette Valley) and on my father’s side, I am Hanis Coos from the Oregon coast. I am an enrolled member of the Confederated Trbes of Siletz Indians.
I am a traditional storyteller and I work with schools, museums, libraries and universities sharing my culture and history. I am also involved in a project to bring back the Kalapuya language which has nearly been lost and currently has no fluent living speakers. I have been married for 55 years and we have three daughters, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and a very large extended family.
Besides working with cultural programs I love music and I am a part of a six-woman Old West Cowgirl band. We rehearse very Tuesday evening and perform around the Western Oregon area. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone soon and exchanging information about our cultures.
Niix Klauwit! Good evening, my name is Roberta Kirk. I live at Simnasho, OR which is on the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation. I am Tenino, Wasco and Dine’. I do a lot of beadwork and love to sew outfits for my people and family to wear. I also am a designated food gatherer for the Simnasho Longhouse. I’m raising two granddaughters and am teaching them our ways of the longhouse and also encourage them both to get a good education.
I’ve attached a few photos of three of our traditional foods, the Salmon, Roots and Huckleberries. These are very sacred foods to us and each food has a ceremony to welcome them back and give thanks to Creator. Each food has its order, the salmon is always first, followed by the Bitterroot, and then the huckleberries. There are many other sacred foods too but these three are the ones that always come first and in this order. As a food gatherer for the Simnasho Longhouse, I dig roots and pick huckleberries for the feasts for each one. We harvest for the people to give thanks at the longhouse, once that meal is completed then its open for everyone to go out and gather for your own families.
I worked for our tribe in Cultural Resources and was the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Coordinator. I Would contact museums, universities and federal institutions, trying to locate our ancestral remains. Once we located them we would work to bring them home and be reburied. Recently we brought ancestors home that were in New Zealand.
I also worked with cultural plants and consulted with entities that wanted to build on our ceded or aboriginal lands, we would advise them if there were any cultural or sensitive objects that they needed to watch for. We did oral history interviews and worked with our elders.
I’m looking forward to learning more about all of you. Thank you
University of Oregon, The Oregon Folklife Network
Riki (Rachelle H.) Saltzman, PhD, Executive Director, Oregon Folklife Network:
Rachelle H. Saltzman, Ph.D., joined the Oregon Folklife Network as Executive Director in 2012. Saltzman works with a communities, Tribes, and individuals to develop collaborative partnerships involving folk arts and artists. She has overseen the development of Oregon’s Culture Keepers Roster, directed Oregon Folk Arts in the Parks and a Folk Arts series at the High Desert Museum, worked with two Oregon museums to create staff folklorist positions, supervised contract folklorists and interns, mentored students, and taught classes for the UO Folklore and Public Culture program. Saltzman has served on Travel Oregon’s AgriTourism Leadership Working Group, the Century Farm and Ranch Board, and on the Oregon Encyclopedia Board. From 1995-2012, Saltzman was the Folklife Coordinator for the Iowa Arts Council, Department of Cultural Affairs, where she developed two award-winning, online folklife curricula and co-produced Iowa Roots with Iowa Public Radio. Since 1982, Saltzman has worked at private non-profit and state agencies in 9 states, where she directed a range of public programs, organized conferences, curated exhibits, conducted research, and been awarded grants from the NEA and NEH as well as from state and non-profit organizations. Saltzman, who obtained her Ph.D. in Anthropology (Folklore) from the University of Texas at Austin, has written numerous public folklore publications as well as peer-reviewed articles in professional journals and books. She has served on the executive board of the American Folklore Society and currently serves on the Society for the Study of Food & Society board. She is the author of A Lark for the Sake of Their Country: the 1926 General Strike volunteers in folklore and memory (2012, Manchester University Press), recipient of the 2012 Wayland D. Hand Prize for Outstanding Book in Folklore and History. She is also the editor of Pussy Hats, Politics, and Public Protest (forthcoming Fall 2020, University Press of Mississippi), which analyzes the 2017 Women’s March through a folkloric lens.
Emily West Hartlerode, M.A., Associate Director, Oregon Folklife Network:
Emily West Hartlerode, M.A., became Associate Director of the Oregon Folklife Network in July 2015, five years after managing OFN’s initial programs and transition to University of Oregon (UO). Hartlerode has an MA in Folklore and certificate in Gender Studies from UO where she was trained in feminist ethnographic fieldwork, and documentary filmmaking. Her short on the award winning “Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Audio Preservation Project,” supported ongoing, deeper collaboration with the Tribe. She uses storytelling to promote folk arts with multi-media presentations for fundraising, community-building, and grant-required work samples. Hartlerode oversees daily operations and manages NEA-funded projects like the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, and Culture Fest. She is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Association of Western States Folklorists (AWSF), professional organizations dedicated to public programming and preservation of traditional arts. Hartlerode’s service to the field includes guest lectures, serving on planning committees (NASAA 2012, AWSF 2013-17), speaking at conferences (Native American/Indigenous Studies Association 2019, Oregon Heritage Conference 2016), and serving on grant review panels for the Oregon Arts Commission, the Oregon Cultural Trust, and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as state folklife programs in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Idaho. She has co-authored two published articles for Journal of Folklore and Education (2018, 2019).
Romania Students
Ștefania Cîșlariu, High School Student:
My name is Stefania, I am from Romania, Targu-Jiu, which is quiet, lovely town, and also the town of Brancusi. I’m 18 years old and I am in my last year of high school. I was born and raised in Romania, but I love traveling and discovering new cultures and traditions. Other things that I love are meeting new people, hearing about their life-stories and finding out more about them, reading, watching old movies and learning foreign languages, also I would like to earn my living out of it someday. I really love our Romanian traditions as well. I believe that are very meaningful. Luckily I had the chance to visit some of Europe’s countries and most beautiful places and a little bit of Asia. I learnt so much from those experiences and I’m looking forward to learn more and more!
Diana Ghita, High School Student:
My name is Diana and I am from Târgu Jiu, Romania. I’m 18 years old and I’m in my senior year at our local arts high school, studying architecture and painting, so my hobbies are like 90% art related. I must confess that I’ve always struggled with meeting new people and socializing, not that I wasn’t curious or friendly, but I’ve always been anxious to get out there in the world… But my first youth exchange in an Erasmus project changed how I see things in that matter completely. I loved the experience, the people, and getting to know them, opening up about everything from personal topics to cultural traditions, made me feel amazing, and since then, I’m craving more of that. So basically that’s the main reason why I am here : to interact, discover, meet new people and create connections as many and as meaningful as the last ones that I’ve managed to make were.
Andrei Cornea, Graduate Student:
My name is Andrei, I’m 23 years young, from Tg-Jiu, Romania. I’m a student in my final year of master’s studies. I’m currently doing an internship in Poland, which takes up most of my time, adding the social activities/events as well. However, I’ll be back in Romania in February. Some of my hobbies include traveling, cinematography, reading, music, catching on current affairs, basketball, etc. I would also like to point out that I consider these hobbies as my main interests as well.
The reason why I joined this project is because it drew my attention and I was very curious as to what is it really about, how it will be handled and I knew that I can learn something different and beneficial here. The main aspect of it – anthropology – it’s what got me interested in it because I consider it a fascinating subject which can broaden your horizons. The fact that it’s such a broad field is another factor why I joined in.
Romania Artists
I am an artist and I live with my head in the clouds! Otherwise I could not make my art. My name is Florin Gheorghiu and I am a teacher of Plastic Education pathway for children from the Constantin Savoi Secondary School in Târgu Jiu. Grandparents from my father have been teachers all my life and they have taught me that school is the place where spiritual values are in place of honor, and children should enjoy not only the attention and love of teachers, but also a good example given by work. the individual as a popular artist that helps them to evolve beautifully and to find in their lives the path closest to the soul. My wife Iliana Gheorghiu, was my bank colleague in the faculty and at present she is my partner in family life but also in the cultural life from which our works of art that all have a certain religious theme result. “Without faith and without God, nothing can be done. I started from the idea that every object in itself becomes a soul that feels in every work of art and beyond! Together we have two children: Anamaria and Horatiu Matei. Through each work of art I tried to capture and convey a state of mind, the one inside the object, which you do not see, but feel, my works are pure, sacred thoughts, states of the spirit that lead to an elevation.
Filomela Sîrbu – Tistere, Traditional Romanian Embroiderer:
Hello everybody! My name is Filomela Sirbu-Tistere and I am a teacher at the Folk Arts School in Targu Jiu. I am specialized in rug weaving and sewing Romanian blouses. I learned this craft from my mother and, together with Valeria, my mother and Claudia, my sister, we have a workshop in Tismana, a town in the Gorj County. I have participated to various cultural and tourism events that promote Romanian traditions, such as: International Tourism Fair and International Exhibition of Traditional Art in Israel, International Tourism Fair from Vienna (Austria), International Tourism Fair from Madrid (Spain), International Tourism Fair from Poland, etc. I am also invited by many Romanian museums to attend Folk Crafts Fairs. I have collaborated with Astra Museum from Sibiu, The National Village Museum Bucharest, The Peasant Musem Bucharest or the Museum of Ethnography from Transylvania in Cluj-Napoca and many other museums from Romania.
Romania Staff: Alexandru Stefulescu Gorj County Museum
Alina Eugenia Tița:
Eugenia-Alina Tita, Romanian Project Director of “Exploring Indigeneity, Tradition, and Transmission”, is an economist at the “Alexandru Stefulescu” Gorj County Museum. She has experience in managing cultural programs and in cultural marketing. Alina has managed “Common Notes – Connecting Folk Cultures through Technology” (US Department of State funding, Museums Connect Program, 2014), coordinated Creativity in Museums seminars held by the US Independent Museum Expert, Linda Norris (US Embassy funding, 2018). She is also familiar with the US culture by participating in two exchange programs – Museums Connect and IVLP on Museum Management and Design.
EmaVio Tulpan, Educator:
My name is Ema and I am an English teacher in my hometown. I love being involved in projects which encourage my students to express themselves through English and Art – such as this one! I studied at Bucharest Uni, majoring in Theology and English, with an MA in Cultural Studies. I have been married for 23 years and am a proud mother of sons Caleb and Levi (17, 15). We all go to a small Baptist church and love God because He first loved us. My passions are traveling (including the planning), walking (especially around old towns), sun-bathing (I adore summers), reading (in English) and watching movies (never horror). More creative hobbies are scrapbooking, interior designing and gardening. Oh, and I love old buildings!