Quick Links
Cultural and Folklife Organizations
Museums of the West
Folklife Resources for Educators
Cowboy Poetry Festivals and Western Events
Folklife Festivals and Events


Cultural and Folklife Organizations

Alliance for California Traditional Arts
http://www.actaonline.org/
The site of California's traditional folk arts organization, with grant applications, funding resources, events calendar, and new exhibits/programs across the state.

American Folklife Center
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/
The US national headquarters for folklife research and programming.

American Folklife Center's Links to Ethnographic Resources
 http://www.loc.gov/folklife/other.html
An extensive and excellent list of links providing access to sites about academic programs, museums, archives, grants programs, journals, and newsletters - all relating to folklife, ethnography, and cultural documentation.

Appalshop
http://appalshop.org/
A sister folklife organization in Whitesburg, Kentucky, dedicated to the culture and people of Appalachia.

Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry
http://www.cowboypoetry.com/
A central resouce for cowboy poetry and associated arts, the nonprofit Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry hosts CowboyPoetry.com, which includes thousands of classic and contemporary poems and lyrics, events lists, features, an email newsletter, and more. The  Center sponsors Cowboy Poetry Week, held the third week of April each year.

City Lore
http://www.citylore.org/
A sister folklife organization in New York City, host to the People's Poetry Gathering.

Poetry.LA
http://www.poetry.la/
An online video resource of poets reading their work at various venues throughout Southern California, bringing broader exposure to poets beyond the intimate venues where the readings were taped. The site also spotlights the venues and hosts of various Southern California reading series.

Fund for Folk Culture
http://www.folkculture.org/
A public folklife organization that provides support and assistance for cultural programming across the country.

Idaho Commission on the Arts, Folk, and Traditional Arts Program
http://www.arts.idaho.gov/
This website is a source for Idaho folklife resources, including applications for grants and art awards, cultural surveys, and folk arts and arts education programming.

Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/index.html
Visit the Library of Congress' website for national library collections, including good folklife materials.

Montana Arts Council Folklife Program
http://art.state.mt.gov/folklife/folklife_resources.asp
Website includes apprenticeship information, resources for folklife education, a folklife gallery, and Montana Folklife Program special projects.

National Endowment for the Arts
http://arts.endow.gov/
The national funding agency for arts and art-related programming.

National Endowment for the Humanities
http://www.neh.gov/
The national funding agency for humanities-based programming.

National Museum of the American Indian
http://www.nmai.si.edu/subpage.cfm?subpage=education&second=dc&third=general
The museum's outreach program works to promote knowledge and understanding of Native arts, history, languages, and contemporary life.

Nevada Folk Arts Program
http://nevadaculture.org/nac/
A division of the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs, this program "identifies, presents, and encourages" the traditional arts of all communities throughout the state of Nevada.

Northwest Folklife
http://www.nwfolklife.org/
An independent nonprofit organization that promotes the cultural heritage of Pacific Northwest communities through folk art and folklife programming.

Oregon Folklife Program
http://www.ohs.org/education/folklife/index.cfm
Includes an online exhibit gallery, lists upcoming activities, artist rosters, resources, and educational material on the traditional arts and cultures of Oregon.

Smithsonian Institution
http://www.si.edu/
A good source for programming related to museums, including fellowships and internships, and online exhibit galleries.

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
http://www.folkways.si.edu/index.html
Recordings and sound bites related to American folk culture with a collection of western folk music.

Texas Folklife
http://www.texasfolklife.org/home.html
This website is a source for Texas folklife resources, including statewide folk arts events and arts education programming.

Utah Folk Arts Program
http://www.utahfolkarts.org/
A partner of the Utah Arts Council, containing Utah traditional arts and culture material in the form of recordings and publications, performance schedules, a state folk art collection, and grant applications.

Vermont Folklife Center
http://www.vermontfolklifecenter.org
This website is a source for Idaho folklife resources, including statewide folk arts events and arts education programming.

Washington State Arts Commission Folk Arts Program
http://www.arts.wa.gov/
Provides information on apprenticeship grants, fellowships, and Governor’s award recipients, as well as discussions of special folklife projects in Washington State and folk arts masters and apprentices.

Western States Arts Federation
http://www.westaf.org/
Resources aimed at services to artists and arts organizations in the west. The site includes numerous links: "a spectrum of online resources of interest to folk artists." This is a good place to find out about grant opportunities, tours and exhibits.   


Museums of the West

Autry National Center of of the American West, Los Angeles, California 
http://www.autrynationalcenter.org/

This website has exhibit gallery vignettes, educational material, and research resources.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
http://www.bbhc.org/home/index.cfm
This museum website features educational and programming information, a calendar of events, an online library, a museum gallery, and up-to-date firearms information.

Cowboy Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/
Excellent educational site with programming information, information on Hall of Fame inductees, events calendar, and museum exhibit information.

High Desert Museum, Bend, Oregon
http://www.highdesertmuseum.org/
The High Desert Museum’s website features educational material, museum exhibit vignettes, adopt-an-endangered-animal information, and an events calendar.


Folklife Resources for Educators

Folklife encompasses the things we believe, know, say, do, and make. It includes our personal and collective beliefs, the ways we speak, our personal stories, how we celebrate our lives, the things we build or make by hand, and how we decorate our world; folklife
is the creative way we express ourselves, it is artistry in everyday life.

Folklife is a part of everyone’s life and can be a fun and useful way of having young people explore their own communities. For more information about identifying folklife in your community please visit:

American Folklore Society: What is Folklore?
http://afsnet.org/aboutfolklore/aboutFL.cfm
This page from the American Folklore Society site distills several definitions of folklore and folklife from a variety of sources.

American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress: What is Folklife?
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/whatisfolklife.html
An impressionistic definition of folklife.

American Folklife: A Commonwealth of Cultures
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/cwc/index.html
An on-line article by folklorist Mary Hufford who describes what folklife is and why it is an important element in our lives.

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A variety of organizations and resources exist to support education about folklife in K-12 classrooms – and beyond. The links below will serve as an entry point into the world of folklife education resources.

American Folklife Center: Educational Resources for
Learning, Teaching, and Research
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/edresources/index.html
This site is designed for teachers and students with interests in exploring and learning about folklife and community-based educational activities. Teachers and students will find a wide range of publications, links to online resources, and other materials to suit their project needs.

American Memory Learning Page
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/
A chapter of the Library of Congress Web site for which teachers from across the US have created lesson plans on American history and culture using photographs, audio clips, and documents.

CARTS: Cultural Arts Resources for Teachers and Students
http://carts.org/
Created by the National Task Force on Folk Arts and Education and CityLore, CARTS is an educational site for the incorporation of folklife into K-12 curricula that contains multimedia resources in folklore, history, culture, and the arts for integration across
the disciplines.

 

Louisiana Voices: Folklife in Education Project
http://www.louisianavoices.org/edu_home.html
Louisiana Voices offers practical educational tools for classroom use. Many of the lessons and ideas are easily adapted to your own community or region.

Montana Heritage Project
http://www.montanaheritageproject.org/
A curriculum-based site for middle school to high school students on collecting local history, and on writing about sense of place. Teachers and students actively communicate ideas and projects.

National Endowment for the Humanities EDSITEment
http://edsitement.neh.gov/
Filled with lesson plans and curricula for humanities subjects.

Radio Diaries
http://www.radiodiaries.org/teenagediaries.html
A website that features radio diaries made by teenagers and The Teen Reporter Handbook for making your own (http://www.radiodiaries.org/makeyourown.html).

Radio Rookies
http://www.wnyc.org/radiorookies/
Radio Rookies is a New York Public Radio initiative that provides teenagers with the tools and training to create radio stories about themselves, their communities, and their world. New York centered, but lots of good ideas, resources, and links.

Shout Out! A Kid’s Guide to Recording Stories
http://www.transom.org/tools/basics/200501.shoutout.kdavis.html
Written by Katie Davis w/ the Urban Rangers & Neighborhood Stories, this is a kid’s eye view to the world of recording and collecting stories in their communities. The guide begins: “Collecting stories is easier than you think. Find a park bench or front porch. Invite your grandmother, your friend, or coach to join you. And listen…”

Teaching Tolerance, Southern Poverty Law Center
http://www.splcenter.org/center/tt/teach.jsp
A nonprofit educational organization that publishes material on cultural diversity and multicultural issues, and an e-magazine with lesson plans and discussion centers.

Texas Folklife Resources: Curriculum Guides
http://www.texasfolklife.org/curriculum-guides.html
A series of curriculum guides produced by Texas Folklife Resources.

Traditional Arts Programs Net: Folk Arts in Education
http://afsnet.org/tapnet/
TAPNET is filled with links to folklife programs all around the United States and the world. Click on their "Folk Arts in Education" icon for more links to folklife-specific educational resources.