Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Montana Folklife Project Records, 1979-1992
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Montana Folklife Project
- Title
- Montana Folklife Project Records
- Dates
- 1979-1992 (inclusive)19791992
- Quantity
- 8 linear feet of shelf space
- Collection Number
- RS 398
- Summary
- The Montana Folklife Project was a federally-funded 3-month survey in 1979 of folklife in Montana. The Montana Folklife Program became a permanent program of the Montana Arts Council after the survey ended. These records consist of project files, questionaires, audio tapes, slides, and photographs from the 1979 survey. Also included are subject files, student papers, video tapes, films, and photographs, from the program from 1979-1992. Some of the photos concern women bronc riders such as the Brander Sisters.
- Repository
-
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov - Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The Montana Arts Council was created, by executive order, on April 22, 1965, to "promote the arts for the benefit of Montana citizens and to provide a cultural climate favorable for the attraction of new business." In addition, the Council served in a re-granting and regulatory capacity for federal arts programs, such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The 46th Session of the Montana State Legislature (1979), through the Montana Folklife Preservation Act (H.B. 675), created the Folklife Project within the Montana Arts Council. The Project was run by the State Folklorist. The major duties of this position were to gather and disseminate information about traditional cultures and art forms in Montana, and provide guidance to cultural groups seeking assistance from the federal government for their local projects. The earliest documentation collected by the Folklife Project came through the work of a Library of Congress survey conducted during the summer of 1979. For nine weeks, July 13-September 5, 1979, the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress conducted a field survey to document traditional life in Montana. The survey was conducted in cooperation with the Montana Arts Council, although the fledgling Folklife Project was not yet operational. Field workers divided the state into five regions, choosing Missoula, Havre, Miles City, Billings, and Butte as their bases of operation. From those cities the fieldworkers travelled to various small towns, conducting interviews, taking photographs, and writing field reports. The latter were based on information gathered from contacts and from their own personal experiences and observations. Areas of particular interest included Native American arts such as bead and leather work; ethnic cultural arts such as cooking, quilting, music, religious ceremonies, and storytelling; and work-related arts such as saddlery, stone cutting, beaver slide construction, and violin making. The Folklife Project, initially funded for only two years, was re-authorized by the State Legislature through the 1980s and into the 1990s. Some of the major projects accomplished in that time include publications on cowboy poetry and range rhymes; production of a radio show featuring Montana artists and musicians; workshops and conferences on Native American artistry; folklife educational classes in the public schools, including college level courses; and projects documenting cattle and ranching culture in eastern Montana. The major goal of the project was to educate the public in the importance of preserving folklife in the state, by sponsoring workshops, presentations, and cultural events. Mike Korn was the first State Folklorist, beginning in November of 1979 and serving in that position until 1989. Nicholas Vrooman took over the Project in the Fall of 1989 and remained until early in 1994 when Francesca McLean assumed the job. Ms. McLean was the State Folklorist until September of 1996.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection consists of files (1979-1993) created by the State Folklorist, Director of the Montana Folklife Project, within the Montana Arts Council. The collection also includes the records of the Montana Folklife Survey Project, conducted by the American Folklife Center in the summer of 1979. The Montana Folklife Project files include organizational records (1980, 1989) describing the long-range goals and policies of the project; subject files (1980-1993) documenting various cultural events across the state; cultural grants creation and regulation; projects conducted by the Folklorist; general Montana history; and miscellaneous writings and clippings about folklore studies. The Montana Folklife Survey subgroup contains photocopies of scattered correspondence (June-September 1979) to and from the director of the project regarding logistics; legal documents (June 1979), including the original agreement establishing the project and contracts with the field workers; press releases (June 1979); reports (June, November 1979), including the original proposal to the Library of Congress and the Director's final report; general subject files (1979), including materials on the Arlee Pow Wow, the Flathead Monster, and the Institute of the Rockies; and miscellany (1979), containing a preliminary inventory for original documents housed at the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress and lists of the field contacts and field workers for the project. The majority of this subgroup is research files (June-September 1979) created by the field workers, including field notes describing daily activities and impressions; photograph logs describing black and white photographs and colors slides; and recording logs for oral interviews conducted during the survey. Photographs and recordings organized at the end of the collection by log numbers. Log numbers are accessed through the field notes.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection
Montana Folklife Project Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Organization |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 1 | Long-range plan |
1989 |
1 / 2 | Policy statement regarding Native American and
women's studies |
1980 |
Subject Files |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1 / 3 | American Indians Monument and Montana Tribal Flag
Circle (installed on state capitol grounds) |
1992-1993 |
1 / 4 | Beaver slides |
1984, undated |
1 / 5 | Big Day, Golden Year (book re the Sundance in
Montana) |
1992-1993 |
1 / 6 | Big Sky Pow-Wow [OVERSIZE: map case] |
1991 |
1 / 7 | Butte: Library of Congress collection descriptions
for holdings on Butte folk music |
undated |
1 / 8 | Butte: Oral History Project (includes some indices
and photographs from a project, conducted by Prof. Mary Murphy, to document Butte's
working-class heritage) |
1979-1980 |
1 / 9 | Margaret and Howard Copenhaver (re manuscript on
their experiences as outfitters/guides in Montana) |
1988 |
1 / 10 | Documentaries about Montana (Butte America and
Robert Yellowtail: A Vision of a Twentieth Century Warrior) |
1982 |
1 / 11 | Tom and Helen Edwards (re history of the White Tail
Ranch, a dude ranch in western Montana) |
1958-1986 |
1 / 12 | Folk architecture: Montana and U.S. |
undated |
1 / 13 | Folk Artists in the Schools Program |
1980-1982 |
1 / 14 | Folklife programs: outside of Montana |
1981, undated |
1 / 15 | Folklore studies: "Barns of North America and
Montana" (term paper prepared by Laureen Anderson as part of Eastern Montana College
Education Department coursework) |
1982 |
1 / 16 | Folklore studies: "Basques in Montana" (term paper
prepared by Renee O'Dea as part of Eastern Montana College Education Department
coursework) |
1981 |
1 / 17 | Folklore studies: "Calamity Jane" (term paper
prepared by Jill Ronan as part of Eastern Montana College Education Department
coursework) |
1981 |
1 / 18 | Folklore studies: "Cattlebrands" (term paper
prepared by Margaret Erickson as part of Eastern Montana College Education
Department coursework) |
1982 |
1 / 19 | Folklore studies: "Cowboy Folk songs and Range
Ballads" (term paper prepared by Bee Clark as part of Eastern Montana College
Education Department coursework) |
1982 |
1 / 20 | Folklore studies: "Marcus Daly" (term paper
prepared by Delores James as part of Eastern Montana College Education Department
coursework) |
1981 |
1 / 21 | Folklore studies: "Dulcimers" (term paper prepared
by Donna Sikler as part of Eastern Montana College Education Department coursework) |
1981 |
1 / 22 | Folklore studies: "Fiddle Making" (term paper
prepared by Laurel Wells as part of Eastern Montana College Education Department
coursework) |
1980 |
1 / 23 | Folklore studies: "Fiddle Music" (term paper
prepared by Stephanie Davis as part of Eastern Montana College Education Department
coursework) |
1980 |
1 / 24 | Folklore studies: "Gold Panning" (term paper
prepared by Mark Mace as part of Eastern Montana College Education coursework) |
1980 |
1 / 25 | Folklore studies: "Hutterite Music" (term paper
prepared by Betty O'Toole as part of Eastern Montana College Education Department
coursework) |
undated |
1 / 26 | Folklore studies: "Hutterite Work Roles" (term
paper prepared by Beverly LeProwse as part of Eastern Montana College Education
Department coursework) |
undated |
1 / 27 | Folklore studies: "Ireland's Folklore" (term paper
prepared by John Shields as part of Eastern Montana College Education Department
coursework) |
1981 |
1 / 28 | Folklore studies: "Montana Missonaries and Pioneer
Preachers" (term paper prepared by Bee Clark as part of Eastern Montana College
Education Department coursework) |
1981 |
1 / 29 | Folklore studies: "North Dakota Jokes" (term paper
prepared by Mike Culliton as part of Eastern Montana College Education Department
coursework) |
1981 |
1 / 30 | Folklore studies: "Quilts and Quiltmaking" (term
paper prepared by Kathy L. Nielson as part of Eastern Montana College Education
Department coursework) |
1980 |
1 / 31 | Folklore studies: "Railroads" (term paper prepared
by Delilah Bauer as part of Eastern Montana College Education Department coursework) |
1981 |
1 / 32 | Folklore studies: "Schools in Montana" (term paper
prepared by Iva Martin as part of Eastern Montana College Education Department
coursework) |
1981 |
1 / 33 | Folklore studies: "Square Dancing, and Sundance in
Cheyenne and Crow traditions" (term paper prepared by Meg Geary as part of Eastern
Montana College Education Department coursework) |
1981 |
1 / 34 | Folklore studies: "Volga Germans" (term paper
prepared by Janice Kober as part of Eastern Montana College Education Department
coursework) |
1981 |
1 / 35 | Folklore studies: "Will James Tales" (term paper
prepared by Mary Sue Schneider as part of Eastern Montana College Education
Department coursework) |
1981 |
1 / 36 | Folklore studies: "Wolves" (term paper prepared by
Lynda Peterson as part of Eastern Montana College Education Department coursework) |
1981 |
1 / 37 | Folklore studies: miscellaneous collection projects
(includes indices of oral history interviews with Tom Landerburg, Walker Bridges,
and Jessie Gleason discussing logging, cowboys, and World War II respectively) |
1981 |
1 / 38 | Folklorists in Montana (re training) |
1981 |
1 / 39 | Grants: Historical Contributions of Montana Indians
to American Society Project |
1978 |
1 / 40 | Grants: Montana Arts Council Folklife Project (re
legislative budget) |
1981-1982 |
1 / 41 | Grants: Montana Arts Council Resident Artist
Program (re Curly Bear Wagner in the Helena and Winnett area schools) |
1991 |
1 / 42 | Grants: Montana Arts Council Rural Arts Initiative
grants (re Old Time Fiddlers' Association) |
1992 |
1 / 43 | Grants: National Endowment for the Arts (re Gros
Ventre music) |
1981 |
1 / 44 | Grants: National Endowment for the Arts (re Montana
Arts Council Folklife Project) |
1981 |
1 / 45 | Grants: National Endowment for the Humanities (re
"A Time of Change: The Yellowstone Region, 1890-1930," an exhibit at the Western
Heritage Center) |
1991 |
1 / 46 | Grants: National Endowment for the Humanities (re
youth grant for Native American Studies at University of Montana) |
1982 |
1 / 47 | Grants: National Park Service (re Montana Indian
Traditional Arts Specialist position for the Montana Arts Council) |
1992 |
2 / 1 | Grants: National Park Service (re Montana Arts
Council staff reviewing grant applications) |
1992 |
2 / 2 | Hunting: big game in Montana (re interview with
Elmer Keith) |
1981 |
2 / 3 | Frank Little (re his death, includes materials on
modern Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)) |
1982-1983, undated |
2 / 4 | George Monture (re his murder and the marker placed
in his memory) |
undated |
2 / 5 | Museums Association of Montana (re Montana Arts
Council Folklorist participating in annual meeting) |
1991 |
2 / 6 | Native American arts: cultural tourism |
1990-1991 |
2 / 7 | Native American arts: legislation (U.S. Senate
bills 792, 2166) |
1981 |
2 / 8-12 | Native American arts: Montana Indian Arts Council |
1991 |
2 / 13 | Native American Arts in Montana Report (re Native
American artists based in Montana) |
1981 |
2 / 14 | Oral history (re interviewing techniques in
folklore collection projects) |
undated |
2 / 15 | Packing (includes index of interview with Del
Schreckengust, expert hunting, fishing and packing guide) |
1979-1982, undated |
2 / 16 | Phonograph recordings (re recording of folk music
in Montana) |
1980-1982 |
2 / 17 | Piegan Institute, Inc. (re project to save Native
American languages) |
1988-1991 |
2 / 18 | Project: Blackfeet Tipi Portfolio (re publication) |
1976-1978 |
2 / 19-23 | Project: Brander Sisters exhibit (re photographs of
the Brander sisters rodeo competitions and their dude ranch) |
circa 1980s |
2 / 24 | Project: Heritage of Yellowstone Festival |
1983 |
2 / 26-27 | Project: Kumamoto arts exchange (re visits between
Montana cities and the sister state in Kumamoto, Japan) |
1991-1992 |
2 / 28 | Project: Logging in Montana (including discussion
of U.S. Forest Service and the IWW, taken from interviews with Russell Corn, Leo
Kinner, Donald MacKenzie, Art Nurse, William Russell, F.K. Stewart, Floyd Veche) |
1982-1983 |
2 / 29-31 | Project: Montana Folk Poets' Anthology (re
publication) |
1982, undated |
2 / 32 | Project: "Mountain Life and Labor" (re responses to
this article printed in Rural Montana magazine) |
1982 |
2 / 35-36 | Project: "My Home's in Montana" (re radio spots
produced by the Montana Arts Council with local artists, musicians, poets, and
writers) |
1980-1981 |
3 / 1-4 | Project: "My Home's in Montana" (re radio spots
produced by the Montana Arts Council with local artists, musicians, poets, and
writers) |
1980-1981 |
3 / 5-6 | Project: Ninemile Remount Depot (re U.S. Forest
Service horse and mule remounting station) |
1985-1989 |
3 / 7 | Project: Northern Cheyenne bead and quill designs
(re publication of patterns) |
1991-1993 |
3 / 8 | Project: Northern Cheyenne elders photograph
exhibit |
1992 |
3 / 9 | Project: Old Time Fiddlers' Group (re competition
recordings) |
1982 |
3 / 10 | Project: Range Rhymes (re cowboy poetry book
publication) |
1989-1990 |
3 / 11 | Project: Smokejumpers Oral History Project (re
reunion of smokejumpers in Missoula and resulting interviews) |
1980-1984 |
3 / 12-13 | Project: Tribal Colleges Art Education Project |
1992-1993 |
3 / 14-18 | Project: When the Work's All Done This Fall (re
publication of book about cowboy and range ballads and stories) |
1981-1982 |
3 / 19 | Railroad culture |
1979-1980 |
3 / 20 | Sheepherding culture |
1979 |
3 / 21 | Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife (held
annually in Washington, D.C.) |
1994 |
3 / 22 | Western States Art Federation (WESTAF) (re Montana
Arts Council review of grant applications) |
1991-1993 |
Miscellany |
||
Box/Folder | ||
3 / 23 | Cowboy Poets Gathering special cancellation stamp
and envelope |
1987 |
3 / 24 | "Languages in Montana" (study by Marj Maeyer,
foreign languages student at University of Montana, re Spanish- speaking ethnic
groups in Montana) |
1982 |
3 / 25 | Leads file (re names and contacts for folklife
interviews) |
1982-1983, undated |
3 / 26 | Missoula Heritage Council (membership list) |
1982 |
3 / 27 | Montana Folklife Program (brochure re function and
services of the program and folklife studies in general) |
undated |
3 / 28 | "Outline of Folklife in Montana" (a draft of types
of folklife that the State Folklorist wished to document) |
circa 1979 |
3 / 29 | Works Projects Administration (WPA) lists (re
citations of records located at the Library of Congress) |
undated |
Clippings |
||
Box/Folder | ||
3 / 30 | Newspaper clippings about various Arts Council
projects and folkculture activities across the state |
1980-1982, undated |
Montana Folklife Survey Project, 1979 Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
General Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
3 / 31 | Correspondence (re goals of survey, hiring staff,
and setting time limits for a summer survey of traditional folklife in Montana) |
1979 June-September |
Legal Documents |
||
Box/Folder | ||
3 / 32 | Agreement between Montana Arts Council and American
Folklife Center, Library of Congress, establishing the Survey Project |
1979 |
3 / 33-36 | Contracts of field workers Michael Crummett, Paula
Johnson, Tom McBride, Gary Stanton, Barre Toelken, and Kay Young |
1979 |
Press Releases |
||
Box/Folder | ||
3 / 37 | Press release announcing the award of funds for the
survey |
1979 |
Reports |
||
Box/Folder | ||
3 / 38 | Director's final report |
1979 November |
3 / 39 | Montana Folk Survey proposal |
1979 June |
Research Files |
||
Box/Folder | ||
3 / 40 | Mike Crummett: Field notes (re Turner Hutterite
Colony, life on Montana's Hi-Line) |
1979 July 25-27 |
3 / 41 | Mike Crummett: Photograph logs, black and white |
1979 |
3 / 42 | Mike Crummett: Photograph logs, color slides |
1979 |
3 / 43 | Carl Fleischauer: Field notes (re Flathead Indian
Reservation resident Agnes Vanderburg, cultural instruction in traditional Native
American lifestyles; a Polson fiddlers' contest; St. Ignatius violin maker, Arvil
Anderson; Avon farmer, Bill Senecal, who still uses beaver slides) |
1979 July 13-19 |
3 / 44 | Carl Fleischauer: Photograph log, black and white |
1979 |
3 / 45 | Carl Fleischauer: Photograph log, color slides |
1979 |
4 / 1 | Paula Johnson: Field notes (re Avon haying crew;
Greek community; Flathead fiddlers; Hutterite women's work; a Miles City poet, a
quilter, a rug maker, a saddlemaker) |
1979 |
4 / 2 | Paula Johnson: Photograph log, black and white |
1979 |
4 / 3 | Paula Johnson: Recordings |
1979 |
4 / 4 | Paula Johnson: Reports (biographical information
from informants who were not recorded) |
1979 |
4 / 5 | Tom McBride: Photograph log, color slides |
1979 |
4 / 6 | Gary Stanton: Fieldnotes (re Arvil Anderson, St.
Ignatius violin maker; Missoula Greek dancing; Avon haymaking; a Stevensville
blacksmith; a Kalispell log barn; Polson fiddlers; Turner Hutterite Colony; Hingham
rawhide work; Havre area grain elevator, fiddlers, Norwegians, sheepshearers;
Glasgow sheep ranchers; Miles City rawhide workers, sheepherders, fiddlers, cowboys,
Germans) |
1979 |
4 / 7 | Gary Stanton: Fieldnotes (re Miles City cowboys,
fiddlers; a Broadus fiddler, an accordian player; Billings Scottish bagpipers; Crow
Agency Crow Fair; Roundup grave sites, coal mining, quilters; Butte Irish, Serbians,
Finns, dances, music, and food; Anaconda Tamboritza Band, Irish accordian music,
haystacking) |
1979 |
4 / 8 | Gary Stanton: Photograph log, black and white |
1979 |
4 / 9 | Gary Stanton: Photograph log, color slides |
1979 |
4 / 10 | Gary Stanton: Recording log |
1979 |
4 / 11 | Gary Stanton: Reports (biographical information
from informants not recorded) |
1979 |
4 / 12 | Barre Toelken: Field notes (re initial contacts and
itinerary planning for summer; Flathead Reservation traditional Native American
living; Crow Agency Crow Fair; a Billings stone cutter; Laurel Herbsfest; Roscoe,
Nye, Absorokee architecture; Butte Irish musician Kevin Shannon, Serbian Orthodox
Church, Chinese; Deer Lodge horse hair braid work; Lewistown saddlery; Babb rodeo) |
1979 |
4 / 13 | Barre Toelken: Photograph log, black and white |
1979 |
4 / 14 | Barre Toelken: Photograph log, color slides |
1979 |
4 / 15 | Barre Toelken: Recording log |
1979 |
4 / 16 | Barre Toelken: Reports (summary reports about the
project's success) |
1979 |
4 / 17 | Miiko Toelken: Field notes (re Billings area
Japanese) |
1979 |
4 / 18 | George Wasson: Photograph log, black and white |
1979 |
4 / 19 | Kay Young: Field notes (re Flathead Reservation
traditonal Native American living; a Stevensville blacksmith; Missoula Greeks;
Turner Hutterite Colony; Fort Belknap bead work, native plants; Rocky Boy's
Reservation; Havre rug braiding, Norwegian cooking, Italian cooking, Swedish
cooking; Miles City lawn shrine, quilters; Crow Agency Crow Fair) |
1979 |
4 / 20 | Kay Young: Photograph log, black and white |
1979 |
4 / 21 | Kay Young: Recording log |
1979 |
4 / 22 | Kay Young: Reports (biographical information from
informants not recorded) |
1979 |
4 / 23-32 | Safety prints (#22679-#91179, referenced from field
workers photograph logs) |
1979 |
4 / 33 | Color slides (referenced from field workers
photograph logs) |
1979 |
4 / 34 | Color slides (referenced from field workers
photograph logs) |
1979 |
5-8 / | Recordings (referenced from field workers
recordings logs) [144 reel-to-reel masters] |
1979 |
Reports |
||
Box/Folder | ||
5 / 1 | Survey Summary Report (by Kay Young); "Montana Follife Survey, 1979: Inventory of Materials" (by Kevin Lawlor Farley) |
1979 September 15 |
Subject File |
||
Box/Folder | ||
5 / 2 | Arlee Pow-Wow |
1979 |
5 / 3 | Butte |
1979 |
5 / 4 | Flathead Monster |
1979 |
5 / 5 | Institute of the Rockies (re citizen participation
in public policy concensus building) |
undated |
5 / 6 | Valley County Pioneer Museum |
undated |
Clippings |
||
Box/Folder | ||
5 / 7 | "American Folkcenter News" (Montana survey news for
the national newsletter) |
1979 |
5 / 8 | Billings Agricultural News, Billings Gazette,
Carbon County News |
1979 |
5 / 9 | Glasgow Courier, Great Falls Tribune, Havre Daily
News, Laurel Outlook |
1979 |
5 / 10 | Miles City Star, Missoulian |
1979 |
5 / 11 | Miscellaneous clippings of cultural events across
the state |
1979 |
Miscellany |
||
Box/Folder | ||
5 / 12 | Bibliography resources on folklife etc. |
undated |
5 / 13 | Forms (empty survey forms) |
1979 |
5 / 14 | Grant (incomplete grant form for the survey) |
1979 |
5 / 15-17 | Inventories (re field notes, color slides, and
black and white photographs taken during the survey project) |
1979 |
5 / 18 | Lists of field contacts |
1979 |
5 / 19 | Lists of field team members |
1979 |
6-8 | A/V materials including audio recordings, video tapes, and photographs |
1979 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Cowboy poets--Montana
- Cowboys--Montana
- Dance--Montana
- Folk music--Montana
- Folklife of the West--Montana
- Folklore--Study and teaching--Montana
- Indian art--Montana
- Indians of North America--Languages--Montana
- Music--Montana
- Outfitters (outdoor recreation)--Montana
- Violin music--Montana