UW Ethnomusicology Archives audio recordings: William R. Seaburg recordings: Interview: Leon Metcalf

UW Ethnomusicology Archives audio recordings: William R. Seaburg recordings: Interview: Leon Metcalf, 1986-08-16

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Seaburg, William R.
Title: UW Ethnomusicology Archives audio recordings: William R. Seaburg recordings: Interview: Leon Metcalf
Dates: 1986-08-16
1986-08-161986-08-16
Quantity: 2 items : OT - 2 audio reels (1 7/8 ips, 1/2 tr. mono, 5"); WD - 2 compact discs (digital, stereo); Duration: 2:29:48
Collection Number: 2012017
Summary: Interview with Leon Metcalf: discussion of his life, especially the circumstances of his recordings of language and songs of Puget Sound area Native groups, 1950s.
Repository: University of Washington Ethnomusicology Archives
University of Washington
Ethnomusicology Archives
Box 353450
Seattle, WA
98195-3450
Telephone: 2065430974
ethnoarc@uw.edu
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted: collection is open for research.
Languages: English, English

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Recorded by William R. Seaburg in McCarty Hall, University of Washington, August 16-17, 1986; Leon Metcalf was interviewed by Toby Langen, Jay Miller, and William R. Seaburg.

Portions of this interview were published as part of "Gram Ruth Sehome Shelton: The Wisdom of a Tulalip Elder" (Lushootseed Press, 1995)

Durations: Tape 1 side 1 = 1:01:30; Tape 1 side 2 = 1:02:29; Tape 2 side 1 = 15:49)

Transmission Data: Digital files created 8/7/12 - 2012-17.1_s1.aif, 2012-17.1_s2.aif, 2012-17.2_s1.aif (48 kHz, 24-bit); Work Discs (WDs) produced - 2012-17.1 and 2012-17.2 WD.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Leon Metcalf was a professor and musician who had been raised among the Tulalip tribe. In 1953, Metcalf acquired his own reel-to-reel tape recorder and began recording various Indigenous people based on the Muckleshoot Reservation near Auburn. Deeply concerned that Indigenous local languages, including Lushootseed, were facing extinction, Metcalf's goal in making the recordings was to aid tribal language programs. The Leon Metcalf Collection of recordings, at the University of Washington's Burke Museum, was created by Leon Metcalf between 1950-1954 and includes recordings of the First People of western Washington State and many other Native American and foreign languages. The collection was donated to the Burke in 1970 and is housed in the Ethnology Archives. Ethnology staff at the Burke have provided free copies to any tribal member who requested them for the past 50 years.

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