OFN staff and graduate students will be traveling to Astoria for the 17th Annual FisherPoets Gathering to document some of the men and women who perform poetry, songs, and prose about their occupation. This celebration of Northwest fisheries and fishers takes creative license as far as it can go and entertains visitors with some of… Continue reading →

A big shout out to the Oregon Historical Society (OHS) for their generous, two-year contribution totaling $30,000. While OFN receives grant funding through two other statewide partners, OHS is the first to provide unrestricted funding through a non-competitive process. This partnership commits OFN and OHS to various programmatic support, resource sharing, and cross-promotions. Watch for… Continue reading →

LuAnne Kozma, project fieldworker Lake and Klamath Counties The Oregon Folklife Network’s Southern Oregon Folklife Survey got off to a start this past November in Klamath and Lake counties. Arriving in Portland by train from the Midwest, I drove south, crossing the snowy Cascade Mountains to Klamath Falls to begin meeting with people and documenting… Continue reading →

Em Knott and Julie Meyer, Folklore graduate students As we drove back over the snowy Cascade Mountain pass that connects Eugene to Southern Oregon, I thought back over the last 24 hours. It had been our—Julie Meyer’s and Em Knott’s—first graduate school fieldwork experience. Under the guidance of OFN Director Riki Saltzman and folklorist LuAnne… Continue reading →

Emily (Em) Knott, of South Carolina, has an undergraduate degree in history. She chose Folklore at the University of Oregon for her master’s because of the the program’s diversity. Her eclectic interests include vernacular religion, performance, and identity.

OFN is now accepting applications for our Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (TAAP) through March 3, 2014. Traditional artists of exceptional merit qualify for $3,000 grants, which enable them to pass their expertise on to someone of great promise in their cultural community. The master – or mentoring – artist and his or her apprentice apply… Continue reading →

Now all my singing Dreams are gone, But none knows where they have fled Nor by what trails they have left me. Return, O Dreams of my heart, And sing in the Summer twilight, By the creek and the almond thicket And the field that is bordered with lupins! -Excerpt from Paiute Medicine Song The… Continue reading →

We are so excited to be able to report on what contract folklorist Douglas Manger has discovered so far about folk and traditional artists in southeastern Oregon. During the spring of 2014, Manger will be out and about in Harney and Malheur counties to document more occupational traditions (fishing, fly tying, hunting, farming, ranching, saddle… Continue reading →

Kelli and Eraina Palmer are enrolled members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Kelli began to learn basket weaving from her mother Eraina about 12 years ago. Kelli started with Wapus sally bags, a traditional style for root gathering and food storage. She later moved to cornhusk basketry with false embroidery. The term “false… Continue reading →

by Riki Saltzman I had the privilege of representing OFN at the American Folklore Society annual meeting this year. My primary task was to speak about how OFN is involved with teaching at the University of Oregon. My colleagues also spoke about their teaching roles and responsibilities. The main takeaway from this very lively session… Continue reading →