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Cultural Education


	Volunteer Volunteers needed for 2004 Smithsonian Folklife Festival GO

First Americans Festival
on the National Mall September 21-26, 2004

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			Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

	Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interview Guide: Some Possible Questions

Hispanic rancher and weaver Agueda Martinez was an invaluable cultural resource, not only for the weaving skills that she had perfected over a lifetime, but for her mastery of the arts of life — of cooking, canning, ranching, raising children, planning weddings, making adobe bricks, leading town meetings, and much more.
Photograph by Barbaraellen Koch, courtesy of the Albuquerque Journal.

Local History and Community Life

Q: Describe the place — urban neighborhood, small town, rural community, suburb — where you grew up. What was it like? How has it changed over the years? What brought about these changes? What did people do for a living? What do they do now?

Q: Can you draw a map of your local community? Of your neighborhood? Your family home? Your farmstead? What places stand out most in your mind and why? What are/were your neighbors like? What kinds of local gatherings and events are there? What stories and memories come to mind?

Q: What community traditions are celebrated today? Church suppers? Chinese New Year parades? Saint's day processions? Cinco de Mayo celebrations? What are they like? How long have they been going on? How have they changed? Who is involved? Why are they important to the community?

Q: How have historical events affected your family and community? For example, what were some of your experiences during World War II, the Civil Rights Movement?


	Table of Contents

	Some Possible Questions

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Cultural Traditions/Occupational Skills

Q: How did you first get started with this particular tradition/skill? What got you interested?

Q: How did you learn your skills? Who taught you? When? What was the learning process like? What is the most challenging or difficult aspect of the tradition to learn? Why?

Q: What are the key characteristics of the tradition? What is its history? Do you know how and where the tradition originated? How has it traditionally been practiced? How has it changed or developed over time?

Q: Does the tradition have different styles or variations? What are they?

Q: Describe the steps of the process from start to finish. What's involved?

Q: What special knowledge, skills, and abilities are needed? What techniques and methods?

Q: What raw materials are used? Where do you get your materials/supplies/ingredients? How are they prepared? Have they changed over time? How? Why?

Q: What tools are involved? How and when are they used?

Q: How do you judge excellence within the tradition? What standards and criteria are used to evaluate the way the tradition is performed? What makes someone respected in the tradition?

Q: In what context is the skill/tradition performed? For whom? When?

Q: What do you value most about what you do? Why?

Q: What do you think is the future of this tradition? What are its challenges and opportunities? Are others learning and practicing the tradition?

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