From 1970 to 1993, Loran Olsen, then a member of the Washington State University Music faculty, did extensive research on the music of the Native peoples, chiefly of the American northwest. His varied activities included field trips to document Native traditions in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana; the production of educational media in close collaboration with Native tradition bearers; the scholarly examination of published and unpublished written materials; collecting, editing, organizing, and documenting his own and previously existing sound recordings; developing and teaching courses in Native music at Washington State University; and giving lectures and workshops in various public forums. In addition to producing a body of primary source material, he also collected a variety of secondary materials that more broadly document the culture and life of North America's native peoples.
This collection consists of materials related to Loran Olsen's teaching, and to his research as an ethnomusicologist specializing in the music and culture of Native American peoples. It was received in multiple installments, and detailed transmittal lists for each are on file in the collection.
MS.2010.29: Mainly collected research materials and audiovisual media, about Native American peoples of the Puget Sound area, the Southwest, California, and Alaska.
MS.2011.16: This installment includes audiovisual media (reel-to-reel audio recordings, 8 mm film recordings); and clippings and issues of the Peninsula Daily News (Port Angeles, WA) covering the 9 tribes of the Olympic Peninsula (Suquamish, Twana/Skokomish, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Jamestown S'Klallam, Lower Elwha Klallam, Makah, Quileute/Queets, Hoh, Quinault). Loran Olsen used these materials in his research and teaching.
MS.2011.18: Most of the materials in this accession are audiovisual media related to Loran Olsen's research and teaching about Pacific Northwest American Indian culture. The main groups represented are Swinomish, Tulalip, and Nez Perce, with a small amount of Plains material. There is a substantial amount of material related specifically to two individuals, Vi Hilbert and Johnny Moses, and the Lushootseed language.
MS.2015.05: Primarily materials related to Loran Olsen's "Music and Dance" contribution to the Handbook of North American Indians, and his work on the Sacred Encounters exhibit (music committee). Also includes collected research materials (mainly reproductions) and audiovisual media.
Dr. Olsen provided detailed transmittal lists for each installment, and copies of these are filed in the collection.
This is an unprocessed collection. Arrangement reflects a pre-existing order from the records’ creators or previous custodians.
The materials are generally grouped by subject, source, or physical format. Each entry in the preliminary inventory below includes a reference to the original box number assigned by the donor, to provide a cross-reference to the detailed transmittal lists on file with the collection.
This collection is open and available for research use, but some materials may have access and/or reproduction restrictions.
Copyright restrictions may apply.
[Item description]
Preliminary Guide to the Loran Olsen Papers, circa 1958-2009 (MSSM.054)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Loran Olsen donated these materials to the Washington State University Libraries in multiple installments beginning in 2010 (MS.2010.29, MS.2011.16, MS.2011.18, MS.2015.05). MS.2011.18 was initially donated to the WSU Plateau Center for American Indian Studies, and was transferred to MASC in 2011.
Loran Olsen Papers, 1960-1993 (Cage 658)
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.