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Folktales and Oral Storytelling: Resources in the American Folklife Center Collections

This Cultural Community sub-page provides resources related to Indigenous storytelling in the US and Canada.

Indigenous storytelling in the US and Canada

Introduction

The following resources pertain to Indigenous stories and storytellers in the US and Canada. Many of the stories included are subject to restrictions based on seasonality, occasion, topic, teller, audience, or other criteria. The AFC works to ensure that access to these materials via its digital collections and onsite in the Reading Room is available only in accordance with these restrictions. Please contact the tribal communities to which these stories and storytellers belong to ensure their proper usage.

Digital Collections

Selected Collections from the American Folklife Center

Selected Public Programming from the American Folklife Center

Since its inception in 1976, the American Folklife Center has routinely hosted public programs at the Library of Congress in the form of concerts, lectures, panels, and symposia. From 2006 on, most of these public programs have been video recorded and made available online. Below, find videos of public programming related to Indigenous stories and storytelling in the US and Canada.

Mary Louise Defender Wilson and Keith Bear perform Sioux and Mandan Hidatsa storytelling and music from North Dakota, another in the Homegrown Concert Series sponsored by the American Folklife Center.

Both D.J. Battiest-Tomasi and Tim Tingle are enrolled as members of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and regularly participate in tribal events. Both also share relatives who came on the Trail of Tears from the original Choctaw homelands in Mississippi. They speak Choctaw as a part of their performances. They normally perform individually, but have been asked to perform together on this occasion.

Noted Native American scholars, authors, and civil rights activists Walter Echo-Hawk, Malinda Maynor Lowery, LaDonna Harris, and Tim Tingle look back at the long Native American struggle for equality, examine current barriers for sustaining community ways of life and identity, and address the path ahead for Native nations and communities. The event is moderated by Letitia Chambers and co-sponsored by the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries & Museums, the Institute for Museum & Library Services, the Ak-Chin Community Council and the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. Watch from 1:14:30-1:26:30 to hear Tim Tingle tell personal narratives.

Other Resources in the Library of Congress

Gallery: images of Indigenous storytellers performing