C.A.R.T.S.

THE WEST

Alaska Native Curriculum and Teacher Development Project [http://www.alaskool.org] involves educators across the state who develop and publish online Native curriculum and resources. Contact Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska-Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage, AK 99508, 907/786-7710.

Alaska Native Heritage Center [http://www.alaskanative.net] is a gathering place that celebrates, perpetuates, and shares Alaska Native cultures. Find FAQs about Alaska for students and other education resources. Contact 8800 Heritage Center Dr., Anchorage, AK 99506, 800/315-6608 or 907/330-800, info@alaskanative.net.

Alaska Native Knowledge Network [http://www.ankn.uaf.edu] offers a deep wealth of educational resources on Alaska Native knowledge systems and ways of knowing, including culturally responsive standards, schools, and teachers. Contact 907/474-5086, fnfwh@uaf.edu.

Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository [http://www.alutiiqmuseum.com] won the 2000 National Award for Museum Service, awarded annually to outstanding American museums. Bestowed by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services and offers many educational resources, including the Alutiiq word of the week listserve. Contact 215 Mission Rd., Kodiak, AK 99615, 907/486-7004, alutiiq2@ptialaska.net.

LitSite Alaska [http://litsite.alaska.edu/uaa] is an online magazine and gathering place for readers and writers of all ages.

Gerald Layton answers questions about the Pony Express station in the background and about his life growing up on Spring Creek in western Montana. Michael Umphrey conducts the interview while Donovan Dinnell videotapes the session.
Photo by Michael L. Umphrey

La Cadena que no se Corta /The Unbroken Chain: Traditional Arts of Tucson's Mexican-American Community [http://dizzy.library.Arizona.EDU/images/cadena/cadena.html] and Southern Arizona Folk Arts [http://dizzy.library.Arizona.EDU/images/folkarts/folkhome.html] are online exhibits of the University of Arizona Library.

Aesop's Fables [http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/aesop] includes text and Real Audio renditions of over 600 fables and allows visitors to make queries and contribute their own parables.

Alliance for California Traditional Arts [http://www.actaonline.org] networks and coordinates information about folk and traditional artists, arts administrators, and researchers around the state. Contact Fresno Arts Council, 1245 Van Ness, Fresno, CA 93721, 559/237-9813, info@actaonline.org.

Angel Island Immigration Station [http://www.angelisland.org] in San Francisco Bay offers excellent student tours but you must plan in advance. Web site shares some of the poetry carved by Chinese detainees on walls of the immigration station.

Traditional Arts Program of the California Academy of Sciences [http://www.calacademy.org/research/anthropology] has an education department that houses an online archive and lists artists and organizations helpful to local schools.

NAMES Quilt, [http://www.aidsquilt.org] headquartered in San Francisco, is the world's largest piece of folk art and the web site includes an education component.

University of California at Berkeley offers an MA in Folklore. Contact the Masters Program in Folklore, Department of Anthropology, UC-Berkeley, CA, 94720, 501-642-2092.

University of California at Los Angeles offers an MA or PhD in the Interdepartmental Program in Folklore and Mythology. Contact Joseph Nagy, 310-825-3962.

The Telling Takes Us Home [http://americanfamilystories.org] offers online samples of family story radio programs produced by Joe McHugh and Raven Radio Theater.

We are awaiting updates and hope to post new resources available in Colorado soon. If you have information, please contact our National Network Coordinator, Paddy Bowman, paddybowman@verizon.net.

Hawai`i Women's Heritage Project [http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/hwhp] of the Women's Studies Program of the University of Hawai`i at Manoa is an online collection of exhibits about the life experiences of women in culturally diverse Hawai`i.

State Foundation on Culture and the Arts [http://www.state.hi.us/sfca] employs a state folklorist and has many useful and authentic materials for the classroom. Reach the foundation at 44 Merchant St., Honolulu, HI 96813, 808-586-0300, or email Michael Schuster [sfca@sfca.state.hi.us]. "Musics of Hawai'i" is among teaching materials the foundation publishes and it is available through the Culture Catalog.

ID
Idaho Arts Commission Folk Arts Program [http://www2.state.id.us/arts/folkarts.html] offers teacher training and resources. Contact Maria Carmen Gambliel [mgambliel@ica.state.id.us], P.O. Box 83720, 2410 N. Old Penitentiary Rd., Boise, ID 83712, 208/334-2119.

MT

Montana Arts Council Folk Arts Program [http://www.art.state.mt.us/folklife/folklife.htm] can identify artists for school programs and other resources. Contact Alexandra Swaney, P.O. Box 202201, Helena, MT 59620, 406/444-6430, macalex@ixi.net.

Montana Heritage Project [http://www.edheritage.org] supports an extensive statewide network of educators and students engaged in community documentation and cultural heritage education. The project's impressive web site offers many articles, photos, and teacher and student writings. Annual summer institutes are open to teachers from all states. Contact Box 672, St. Ignatius, MT 59865, 406-745-2600, katherine@edheritage.org.

Nevada State Arts Council Folk Arts Program has a middle school guide and other classroom resources. [http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/arts/folkarts/folkarts.htm] Contact 602 N. Curry St., Carson City, NV 89703, 775-687-6680.

Western Folklife Center [http://www.westernfolklife.org] documents, preserves, and presents traditional culture of the West. In addition to producing radio programs, recordings, and exhibits, the Center produces the annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering each January and education initiatives such as Voices of Youth [http://www.westernfolklife.org/voy]. For information on education offerings, contact Meg Glaser, 501 Railroad St., Elko NV 89801, 775/738-7508, mglaser@westernfolklife.org.

Museum of International Folk Art [http://www.moifa.org] From Tibetan culture to making art with recycled materials, online exhibits and teaching guides offer provocative content and lessons. Contact Aurelia Gomez [Agomez@moifa.org] in the Education Dept.

ND
North Dakota State Council on the Arts [http://www.state.nd.us/arts] has a folklife program and annual summer teacher institute. Contact Troyd Geist, 1600 E. Century Ave., Bismarck, ND 58503, 701/328-7591, tgeist@state.nd.us.

Boua Xou Mua, Hmong Musician Playing a Pipa, Portland, OR
1985 NEA National Heritage Fellow

Photo by Alan Govenar

OR

MediaRites [http://www.mediarites.org] promotes understanding and education between diverse communities through a variety of media including radio, theater, and interdisciplinary outreach projects. Contact 104 S.E .57th Ave., Portland, OR 97215, 503/233-2919, MediaR@aol.com.

Oregon Folklife Program [http://art.econ.state.or.us/programs/folklife.htm] based at the Oregon Historical Society offers a roster of folk artists for school residencies and creates student magazines, curriculum guides, and traveling trunk exhibits. Find online guides [http://www.open.k12.or.us/start/visual/basics/folk/index.html] on state Maritime, Hmong, Mexican American, Lao, and Chinese traditions. The Masters of Ceremony site [http://www.ohs.org/exhibitions/moc/shell.htm] elegantly showcases online lessons based on four master folk artists' work and rites of passage. Contact Carol Spellman [carols@ohs.org] Oregon Folklife Program, 1200 S.W. Park Ave., Portland, OR 97205, 503/306-5290.

Utah Arts Council Folk Arts Program [http://www.arts.utah.org/folkarts] has a range of booklets and cassettes useful in the classroom on Latino traditions, storytelling, dance, and basketry in the state. Newest offering is a tape tour of an agricultural region known for sheep and turkeys, old Mormon buildings, and Scandinavian heritage, $15 + $1 shipping, Utah Arts Council, Folk Arts Program, 617 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84102, 801-533-5760, or email Craig Miller [cmiller@ucc.state.ut.us].

Utah State University offers a BA or MA in folklore, publishes an array of useful books, and sponsors the annual Fife Conference, which is an excellent opportunity for teachers. Email Randy Williams [ranwil@cc.usu.edu] or call the department 801/750-2728.

Folk Arts Program [http://www.arts.wa.gov/progFA/faHome.html] of the Washington State Arts Commission site links to projects as diverse as Gritos del Alma (Mexican-American Music Traditions of Washington State) and Spirit of the First People (American Indian Music Traditions). The program has an excellent series of cultural and historical tour guides to different regions of the state. Contact Willie Smyth, [willies@arts.wa.gov] 360/586-2856.

Northwest Folklife [http://www.nwfolklife.org] produces a major festival in Seattle and offers educational resources and workshops. Contact the Education Dept. [education@nwfolklife.org] 206/684-7300 for information.