Introduction

American Folklife Center collections from Wyoming document the diversity of its expressive culture. Among its unique collections are recordings of Northern Arapaho and Shoshone music collected in Wyoming by noted ethnomusicologist Willard Rhodes for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1951; songs of the Shoshone collected by Judith Vander in the 1970s and 1980s; and recordings of music and interviews in the Wyoming Council on the Arts Radio Project Collection (1984). Interviews with veterans from Wyoming can be found in the Veterans History Project collections, including one with a Medal of Honor recipient.

Wyoming-based folklorist Andrea Graham discusses her fieldwork among fishers and hunters in the contemporary American West and explores how these traditions maintain, reinforce, and celebrate deeply-rooted elements of place, family and community life. June 07, 2018.

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.

Jean Louise Wade Turner collection 1941-1945: Veterans History Project
Call Number: AFC 2001/001/1011
Published/Created: 1941-1945
Jean Louise Wade Turner, née McCollum, was born in Grasscreek, Wyoming, on June 27, 1923. In 1944, she enlisted in the United States Women's Army Corps and served with Section C, 4135th Army Air Force Base Unit (AAFBU) at Hill Field, Utah, Patterson Field, Ohio, and in Australia. She was discharged in 1945 with the rank of Private First Class. Turner died on April 11, 1998. View digitized photos from this collection
Willard Rhodes 1951 field recordings collection
Call Number: AFC 1951/001
Published/Created: 1951
Field recordings of Apache, Cherokee, Comanche, Creek, Hopi, Kiowa, Navajo, Pawnee, Shoshone, and Tlingit, as well as Ecuadorian Indian and Eskimo music. Recorded in Arizona, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming by Willard Rhodes, June 1951, for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Includes recordings of Arapaho and Shoshone songs from Wyoming.
Judith Vander collection: Songprints master tapes
Call Number: AFC 1995/016
Published/Created: 1977-1983
Collection of field recordings of eighty-one songs, seventy-nine of which are sung by five Shoshone Indian women of the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Of these, seventy-four were recorded in Cody and Fort Washakie, Wyoming, by Judith Vander, 1977-1983, as part of fieldwork for her book and cassette publication, Songprints: The Musical Experience of Five Shoshone Women (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988; ML3557.V36 1988).
Wyoming Council on the Arts radio project collection
Call Number: AFC 1984/009
Published/Created: 1984-1986
Field recordings of fiddle contests, family bands, interviews, and songs recorded at various locations in Wyoming by Deborah Jane Lamberton, May-June 1984, for the Wyoming Council on the Arts Radio Project. The collection includes one-half linear inch of press releases and newsletters, and a set of four cassettes and a brochure comprising the second edition of the program entitled "...You Know That Wyoming Will Be Your New Home."

Podcasts and Blog Posts

Stories Above and Beyond: The Medal of Honor
This blog by Megan Harris on three Medal of Honor recipients includes Vernon Baker, a native of Wyoming who served in Italy as part of the 92nd Infantry Division, the "Buffalo Soldiers," during World War II. (Folklife Today Blog: November 7, 2017)

Public Programming

The Bar J Wranglers from Wilson, Wyoming (outside Jackson Hole) carry on a family tradition of entertaining audiences throughout the intermountain West with their mixture of cowboy music, humorous skits and celebration of ranch life. October 2, 2008.

Additional Public Programming

Art of the Hunt: Hunting & Fishing Folklore (Interview)
Wyoming-based folklorist Andrea Graham discusses her fieldwork among fishers and hunters in the contemporary American West and explores how these traditions maintain, reinforce and celebrate deeply-rooted elements of place, family and community life with folklorist Nancy Groce. June 07, 2018.

American Folklife Center Collections: Wyoming

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Introduction

Collections of Interest

Podcasts and Blog Posts

Public Programming

Additional Public Programming