Two contract folklore positions! RFP: Due Nov 15, 2017

Date October 16, 2017

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Oregon Folklife Network RFP: Due Nov 15, 2017

Folklore Fieldworkers for Willamette Valley

January – August 2018

The Oregon Folklife Network seeks to hire one early career (1-3 years’ experience in public folklore i.e., non-degree focusedfolklife fieldwork) AND one mid-career folklorist (at least 3-7 years’ experience in public folklore) to conduct folklife field surveys and documentation of cultural, occupational, regional, and religious traditions in the Willamette Valley counties of Polk and Benton and much of Marion, Linn, and Lane counties, including the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (fieldwork regions will be divvied up based on the experience and backgrounds of those selected). OFN Executive Director, Riki Saltzman, will supervise this project; Saltzman and the mid-career folklorist will mentor the early career folklorist as well as an emerging folklorist during fieldwork and for presentations. This project is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works.

The Willamette Valley stretches along 100 miles of the Willamette River, from just south of Portland in the north to Eugene in the south; it covers all of Polk and Benton and much of Marion, Linn, and Lane counties, including the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. This region includes about 45% of Oregon’s population and is bordered by the Cascade Range (east), the Coast Range (west), and the Calapooya Mountains (south). Formed by the Ice Age Missoula Floods, this highly fertile region is known for its wineries (19,000 acres of vineyards and over 500 wineries), microbreweries, hop yards, orchards, farms, rivers, and fishing.

The Willamette Valley includes three major cities—Salem (capital), Eugene (University of Oregon), and Corvallis (Oregon State University)—plus small towns, rural areas, several rivers, and populations from a diverse range of ethnic and regional backgrounds, including a large settlement of Russian Old Believers. This project will cover regional, ethnic, and occupational folklore, including but not limited to Asian and Pacific Islanders (Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Hawai’ian, Japanese, Korean, Lao, Vietnamese), Latino (Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican), Native American (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde), and European (Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Scotch-Irish, Scottish, Swedish) as well as logging, hunting, railroad, sheep and dairy farming, orchards, viticulture, brewing, hops growing, fishing and fishing guides, boat building and other waterways traditions along with foodways, music, storytelling, and other relevant traditional expressions.

Documentation will include a needs assessment for regional folk arts, recommendations for OFN’s roster, a list of potential partner organizations, and programming suggestions, thus providing direction for OFN’s network function. Folklorists will also provide public programs for each county and Grand Ronde; those presentations palpably demonstrate the value of traditional arts and result in further connections and feedback.

In addition to fieldwork, each contract folklorist will also be responsible for presenting two 1-hour public programs featuring 2 documented artists in counties where the research has occurred (OFN provides assistance).

The fieldwork portion of this work should take place any time from January – May 2018, though April – May would be preferable; public programs (see above) must occur no later than July 2018. Pre-fieldwork contacting of culture keepers and others may begin any time after December 15, 2018. All paperwork must be completed and turned in by August 31, 2017. Fieldwork days need not be consecutive, but fieldwork times must be coordinated with Saltzman.

The successful applicant should have at least an MA in folklore or related discipline, such as cultural anthropology or ethnomusicology. Early career applicants should have at least 1-3 years’ professional experience in public folklore and/or folklife documentation; mid-career should have at least 3-7 years’ professional experience in public folklore and/or folklife documentation. Please note that this does NOT include work conducted as part of a degree program.

Qualified applicants must have access to, experience with, and technical competence with digital equipment (camera, audio recorder, computer/laptop) and their own transportation. OFN will not cover transportation to/from Oregon.

Required RFP materials:

a cover letter detailing qualifications and relevant experience as well as how the applicant will conduct the work for this projectc.v.3 relevant reference letters (no exceptions)representative work samples (please submit only digital and/or online work samples) to include recorded audio interviews (1-2 excerpts of no more than 3 minutes each). Note: interviews should be in English and on topics relevant to folk and traditional artsa self-recording (audio) with applicant’s personal introduction along with a summary of qualifications (no more than 3-4 minutes)photography (10-20 images, jpg format, with metadata: subject, date, place, purpose of original photo). Note: we are looking for ethnographic/fieldwork type photographs with contextual information as part of the photo. Simple portraits and landscapes do not qualify, and we cannot accept video. fieldnotes (5 pp max)1 published professional writing sample (festival catalogue pieces are more than fine).

Applications submitted without these items will be deemed incomplete and will not be considered.

OFN will provide:

· preliminary contact information/introductions for several communities, folk artists, and organizations in Oregon’s Willamette Valley;

· digital folklife fieldwork forms (audio log, photo log, general release, artist data sheet, release for internet materials); funds for disks, memory cards, batteries, etc.; funds for travel (in Oregon only) at the state rate;

· pre-selected organizations in each county for public programs;

· Early career folklorist: contract and fee of $300/day plus in-state travel expenses (food, mileage, lodging at state rates) for total of $9,700; and

· Mid-career folklorist: contract and fee of $400/day plus in-state travel expenses (food, mileage, lodging at state rates) for total of $11,500.

The results of this folklife field survey will expand the OFN’s Culture Keepers roster; provide 6 public programs in counties where fieldwork was conducted (including one at the Oregon Historical Society); and provide cultural information, including field reports, to local cultural and arts organizations towards the creation of future programs as well as to OFN’s operational partners, the Oregon Arts Commission, the Oregon Cultural Trust, the Oregon Historical Society, Humanities Oregon, the Oregon Heritage Commission, and the Oregon State Library. As with all folklife materials, fieldwork documentation will become part of the Oregon Folklife Collection at the University of Oregon Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives.

Complete applications (including all reference letters) should be sent to:

Oregon Folklife Survey, Oregon Folklife Network, 242 Knight Library, 6204 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-6204OR as a PDF email attachment to riki@uoregon.edu (please put FOLKLIFE SURVEY in the subject line).

Complete applications must be received at the OFN by November 15, 2017.

This is NOT a postmark deadline.

For further information, please contact Riki Saltzman or Emily West Hartlerode at 541/346-3820 or riki@uoregon.edu or eafanado@uoregon.edu. Riki will be at AFS if you have questions.

Apply Now! Native American and Culture Foundation Mentor Artist Fellowships

Date September 19, 2017

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The call is now open to established American Indian and Alaska Native artists to apply for a one-year NACF Mentor Artist Fellowship to mentor an emerging American Indian and Alaska Native artist apprentice. Established artists should have at least ten years of experience in the Traditional Arts or Contemporary Visual Arts fields.

Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. Pacific Time, on Monday, November 6, 2017.

Awarded Mentors will develop lesson plans intended to increase their apprentice’s skill level, and provide an experience of intergenerational exchange of cultural knowledge within the apprentice’s traditional arts or contemporary visual arts practice. To assist in developing lesson plans, awarded mentors and their apprentices are required to attend a training session before the mentorship begins. The training date will be announced upon notification of the awards.

This is a regional fellowship focusing in the Pacific Northwest, Southwest and Upper Midwest areas of the United States. Eligible applicants must be at least a five-year resident of, and enrolled in an American Indian tribe or Alaska Native corporation located in Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Southern California (Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties), Washington or Wisconsin. Submission of documentation of American Indian and Alaska Native heritage is part of the application process.

First year Mentor Artist Fellow Lani Hotch (Chilkat Indian Village) said of receiving her award, “I’ve tried to work with groups of weavers, and I’m excited to work one on one with somebody so they know all the steps. In the last few months we’ve lost two weavers (…). I’m feeling a real compulsion to teach somebody.” Mentor Artist FellowShirod Younker (Coquille, Coos) said in response to the mentor training, “[A] good way to build focus [on] what we are doing and think about the macro vision of the projects in conjunction with each other.”

The Mentor Artist Fellowship is a monetary award of $30,000 — $20,000 to the mentor, $5,000 for the joint art project and $5,000 for the apprentice’s expenses — gas, supplies. Applications will undergo a selection process and fellowship awardees will be announced in the Spring of 2018. The mentoring period will be from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019. To demonstrate the experience and success of the mentoring, a completed joint mentor/apprentice art project is required at the Fellowship’s end.

For more information and to apply click here.

To learn more about previous NACF Mentor Artist Fellows, visit our website at http://www.nativeartsandcultures.org/mentor-fellowships.

The Mentor Artist Fellowship Program is generously supported by individual donors and regional funders committed to preserving and perpetuating Native arts and cultures. NACF is grateful to the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation for supporting an Oregon Mentor Fellow.

Announcing OFN Book Release: Oregon Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Master Artists: 2012-2016

Date August 30, 2017

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Alina Mansfield

We are pleased to announce the release of Oregon Folklife Network’s latest publication: Oregon Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Master Artists: 2012-2016, featuring highly skilled traditional artists in Oregon. This publication and the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program in Oregon was made possible through grant funds, and so is not for sale. Instead, we share it for free with cultural organizations, libraries, funding partners, and elected officials. Doing so achieves key parts of our mission: investing in traditional artists, creating new outlets to show Oregon’s traditional arts, and providing public access to information about traditional ways being practiced in Oregon today.

This book highlights the cultural traditions of those master artists who received TAAP awards from 2012-2016. Each awardee mentored at least one apprentice in an art form significant to their shared community, and all allowed us to document their processes. The book provides a glimpse into just a few of Oregon’s cultural traditions, ranging from Umatilla dentalium piecework and Palestinian embroidery to Czech and Slovak egg decoration and Plateau shell dress making. Included are western occupational art forms such as silversmithing, saddle making, and rawhide braiding, which speak to Oregon’s ranching heritage. Among the featured multicultural performance forms are Chinese rod puppetry, hip hop and rap, old time banjo, Guinean drumming, Indian Bharatha Natyam dance, and Mexican ballet folklórico. Throughout the pages, you will read the artists and culture keepers’ own words about their commitment to preserving and passing on their heritage.

We share this book to honor Oregon’s diverse cultural heritage while raising public appreciation for traditional arts and artists. The Oregon Folklife Network, in association with our funding partners, is proud to present the master artists who keep Oregon’s traditional arts a vital and living expression of Oregon’s cultural heritage. Contact us for copies.

Update from Eastern Oregon

Josh Chrysler

As the contract staff folklorist for the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario, Oregon, I’ve been busy this summer developing public programs celebrating the traditional culture and folklife of eastern Oregon. Although very rural, expansive country, there is an incredible diversity of folklife in the region. Native American, Basque, European, Hispanic, and Japanese represent a few of the constant flow of people of varied ancestries who have relied on the four rivers that converge in the western Treasure Valley—the Snake, Malheur, Owyhee and Payette – for which the Four Rivers Cultural Center is named. Each of these cultural groups have contributed their own folklife to the culture of the region.

Kawa Taiko, traditional Japanese drumming group based in Ontario, performing in Baker City on August 6th, 2017

National Endowment for the Arts is funding the partnership between Four Rivers Cultural Center and the Oregon Folklife Network to hire a staff folklorist dedicated to supporting the folklife and traditional culture of eastern Oregon. Back in March, I traveled across the 8 easternmost Oregon Counties, holding listening sessions with County Cultural Coalitions, museums, arts centers, and Tribes, to learn what kind of programs people would like to see.

Based on those meetings, I developed four programs collaborating with different host organizations and traditional artists spread across eastern Oregon in Ontario (Malheur County), Pendleton (Umatilla County), Frenchglen (Harney County), and Baker City (Baker County). Highlights from these programs include a community conversation with James Dionne (Chippewa and Cree), a Native powwow dancer and sweat lodge leader in Ontario; demonstrations with various traditional artists like rawhide braider Dan Fowler, cradleboard and basket maker Sara Barton (Mono Lake Paiute and Yosemite Miwuk) during the Frenchglen Jamboree; a performance and conversation in Baker City with Ontario’s traditional Japanese drumming group, Kawa Taiko, and a community conversation with Native bead worker Margaret Johnson (Crow/Chippewa/Cheyenne, whose children are enrolled Umatilla) in Pendleton. Read a first-hand account of these programs in Riki Saltman’s article below.

Sara Barton demonstrating willow preparation technique for use in a cradleboard in Frenchglen (Harney County), on August 5^th, 2017.

Next year, we plan to focus on buckaroo and ranching folklife, including functional traditional arts such as silversmithing, saddle making, twisting mecates, and more. Keep your eyes open for next year’s exhibit exploring these traditions, and an all-day celebration with demonstrations of traditional arts, alongside performances of cowboy poetry and music. Stay tuned for more information as this project develops!

Detail of a spur made by silversmith Forrest Fretwell of Jordan Valley, Oregon.

OFN Roadtrip, Eastern Oregon

Date August 30, 2017

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Riki Saltzman

From August 4-7, 2017, I had the privilege of traveling about a thousand miles through eastern Oregon—to Burns, Frenchglen, Baker City, Pendleton, and back through the Gorge. I’m always struck by the vastness of our state, its overwhelming beauty, and the diversity of its terrain and eco-systems. In a few hundred miles, I passed through many national forests, mountains (Cascades, Blue, and Steen), high desert, sage prairie, great basin, hot springs, some surprising wetlands, and lava beds. A smoky haze hung over all, due to the fires raging throughout the state.

What brought me out of Eugene was the opportunity to attend two of a series of folklife programs that Four Rivers Cultural Center (Ontario) put together with cultural partners in Harney and Baker Counties.

My family and I had a long drive Friday night, broken up by a wonderful dinner at Diego’s Spirited Kitchen in Redmond. Douglas Manger, one of OFN’s contract folklorists, introduced me to Diego’s during his folklife survey fieldwork in 2016. It’s been a staff favorite ever since, especially the tacos de pescado with sautéed halibut.

We arrived in Burns that evening, and the next morning my family and I set off for Frenchglen and the traditional craft demonstrations that Josh Chrysler, Four Rivers staff folklorist, had planned alongside the Frenchglen Jamboree taking place at the Frenchglen Hotel State Heritage Site. Read about the full scope of Eastern Oregon Folklife programs that Chrysler designed elsewhere in this newsletter.

An hour’s journey through the mostly arid basins, along twists and turns, and over dramatic basalt ridges led us to Frenchglen, located on the edge of the Steens Mountain. Frenchglen Jamboree, complete with a youth rodeo, included barrel racing, roping, and a spoon race as well as a Dutch oven dessert cook off, and live music. The folklife demonstrations took place on the side lawn at the Frenchglen Hotel, which was also hosting a cribbage match and a barbeque dinner.

Under shady tents, we visited with Native beadworker, cradleboard, and basket weaver Sara Barton; rawhide braider Dan Fowler; and leather worker John O’Connor of the Steens Back Country Horsemen. Both Barton and Fowler are part of OFN’s Culture Keepers Roster.

Barton, who is of Mono Lake Paiute and Yosemite Miwuk heritage, lives at the Burns Paiute reservation, where she makes and teaches folks how to make cradleboards for babies of different ages and sizes as well as a variety of baskets.

Dan Fowler, a long-time rancher and cowboy, is known throughout the region for his fine rawhide braiding. Each of the buttons—the intricately woven bumps on mecates, lariats, and comals—take hours to complete.

I was particularly charmed by the miniature reins that he had displayed, which are about 1/6 scale.

O’Connor (on Fowler’s right), also a rancher and horseman, makes a variety of leather vests. Both he and Fowler regaled everyone with stories about horses (Fowler’s favorite “Old Strawberry”), rattlesnake dens, and more.

We also took a few breaks to sample the tasty food at the Hotel; the homemade raspberry crisp was a perfect ending to a meal of salads, burgers, and fries.

After a full day in Frenchglen, we traveled through the stunning lava beds of Diamond Craters and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge wetlands to Crystal Crane Hot Springs. Soaking in the seven-foot deep hot springs pond, which hovers around 100 degrees, amidst the quiet, star-filled evening, was a true Oregon experience.

But before winding down, we drove back into Burns for the annual Burns Paiute powwow at the Harney County Fairgrounds. There we enjoyed a variety of traditional powwow dancers and their stunning, hand-crafted regalia. I found out later that some of the dancers had been part of OFN’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, which funded Burns Paiute elders, Betty Hawley, Myra Peck, Phillis Miller, and Ruth Lewis, to teach moccasin making to children ranging in age from 3 to 6.

One of the benefits of attending a powwow is the yummy food. While we missed out on the meat and potato stuffed frybread, we did inhale some “rez dogs” (a hotdog wrapped in frybread dough and deep fried) as well as chili rez dogs (a rez dog topped with chili, cheese, and condiments).

As we strolled around the powwow grounds, we even found some Oregon Ducks.

The next day, we enjoyed a morning soak in the hot springs before a filling breakfast at Ed’s Fast Break & Grille at the edge of Burns.

After breakfast, we journeyed north and east through the dramatic terrain of the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness as we made our way to Baker City and a performance and community conversation with Janet Komoto and the Kawa Taiko Drummers of Ontario, Oregon.

Komoto and her Taiko drummers have long been a mainstay of eastern Oregon’s performing arts circuit. With the able assistance of Josh Chrysler, this traditional Japanese drum group performed and engaged with a crowd of about 100 on Sunday afternoon, August 6, at Geiser Pollman Park. In 2000, several members of Ontario’s Japanese American community came together to practice the traditional Japanese art of taiko. Komoto became part student, teacher, and group leader. Thanks to Base Camp Baker for posting this video of the Kawa Taiko Drummers.

These programs were made possible by the Four Rivers Cultural Center, the Harney County Cultural Coalition, Crossroads Carnegie Arts Center, the Oregon Folklife Network, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Josh Chrysler, Staff Folklorist at Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario, developed this series of programs and exhibits that celebrate the traditional culture and folklife of eastern Oregon.

OFN Prepares the Next generation of Public Folklorists

Date May 25, 2017

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Emily Hartlerode

OFN welcomes four Spring interns and volunteers this term. Being situated at a University enables OFN to provide students with valuable professional experience in public folklife research methods and public programming. Please welcome:

Folklore master’s candidate Sarah Fisher’s internship involves learning about event marketing. Fisher has a research interest in festival productions engineered by performing arts groups. She has volunteered and performed with cultural festival productions since she was 12 years old.

As an OFN intern, Jes Sokolowski (Nonprofit Management master’s candidate) is exploring cultural organization operations and programming. Her research interests are in cultural policy, cultural economics, and the relationship between creativity and risk taking. Her passion for both art and numbers has set her on a mission to create aesthetically pleasing spreadsheets for the numerically averse. Her favorite things include waffles, Marlene Dietrich’s costumes, and board games.

For her OFN internship, Hillary Tully (Folklore master’s candidate) is preparing a National Heritage Fellowship nomination. This National Endowment for the Arts award is the highest honor an American folk and traditional artist can achieve. Tully brings her research interest in reproductive health narratives, and a wry sense of humor. She is an “internal zoo of fascinating animal facts,” and also claims to be an unofficial spokesperson for Prego Spaghetti Sauce.

Augustine Beard (Honors College bachelor’s candidate in History and Environmental Science) is volunteering at OFN to learn more about careers in heritage and arts administration. Before coming to the University of Oregon, he was in a rock band for five years and produced two albums. Augustine also was just one of 5 University of Oregon undergraduates to receive a 2017 undergraduate research award for an outstanding paper.

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Kawa Taiko, traditional Japanese drumming group based in Ontario, performing in Baker City on August 6th, 2017

Sara Barton demonstrating willow preparation technique for use in a cradleboard in Frenchglen (Harney County), on August 5th, 2017.

Detail of a spur made by silversmith Forrest Fretwell of Jordan Valley, Oregon.

Sara Barton demonstrating willow preparation technique for use in a cradleboard in Frenchglen (Harney County), on August 5^th, 2017.