Jimmy Garrison at the 1972 Ann Arbor Jazz and Blues Festival. Photo by Ira Lax. Part of the documentation in Michigan's Local Legacies project.

Michigan

The collections of the American Folklife Center contain rich and varied materials from Michigan that document the diversity of the state's folk traditions. Among its unique recordings are cylinders of Ottawa Indian music and speech; Finnish immigrant songs and folklore; Lithuanian folk music; interviews with migrant farm workers; lumber camp songs; Detroit blues music; and Irish musicians on Beaver Island.

Collections

Finding Aid: View a complete list of our Michigan collections.

Local Legacies: This project provides a "snapshot" of local culture as it was expressed in the year 2000. View Michigan's Local Legacies projects.

Veterans History Project: Browse state collections from the Veterans History Project.

Additional Resources

Folklife Resources: Find state folklife-related agencies, societies, archives, higher education programs, and more, in Folklife Sourcebook: A Directory of Folklife Resources in the United States.

Publications: "Reverend C.L. Franklin: Black American Preacher Poet," Folklife Annual 1987. [catalog record]

"Immigrant to Ethnic: Symbols of Identity Among Finnish-Americans" and "Via Dolorosa" (a life story), Folklife Annual 1986. [catalog record]

Published Recording: Songs of the Michigan Lumberjacks, Library of Congress AFS L56. [audiocassette]