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American Folklife Center Collections: Washington

This guide provides access to ethnographic resources documenting expressive culture in the state of Washington at the Library of Congress.

Introduction

American Folklife Center collections from the state of Washington document the diversity of its expressive culture. Among its unique collections are recordings are the Chehallis, Clayoquot, Klallam, Lummi, Makah, Nooksack, Nisqualli, Puyallup, Quileute, Samish, Skagit, Snohomish, Skokomish, Squamish, and Yakima tribal groups. Between 1988 and 1993 the American Folklife Center conducted the Italian Americans in the West Project documenting the traditions of Italian Americans. A portion of this field study was conducted in eastern Washington.

In this video folklorist Jens Lund discusses traditional poetry among other occupational groups and is still found among workers in the Pacific Northwest such as loggers, commercial fishers, and miners. The majority of the poets live or work in Washington. September 12, 2013.

Collections of Interest

The following materials link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to digital content are provided when available.

Public Programming

In this Ruže Dalmatinke performs Croatian songs at the Library of Congress. Binki Franulovic Spahi (lead voice) and Alma Franulovic Plancich (second voice) lead Ruze Dalmatinke in singing, and are responsible for the group's adherence to traditional purity in their music. From the town of Vela Luka on the island of Korcula, Dalmatia, Croatia, they immigrated with their family to the United States after World War II. July 18, 2012.