Mr. and Mrs. Frank Pipkin in a recording session with collector Charles L. Todd, 1941. Photo by Robert Hemmig. From the Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Workers Collection.

Oklahoma

The collections of the American Folklife Center include vast amounts of material documenting the Native American traditions of Oklahoma. Represented in its unique recordings are Kiowa, Sioux, Pawnee, Ponca, Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Shawnee, Kiowa-Apache, Osage, Kickapoo, Cherokee, Delaware, and other tribal groups. In addition to native traditions, the Center's collections include cylinder recordings of Oklahoma cowboy music from the early 1900s recorded by John A. Lomax; unique recordings of performances and interviews by the legendary folk musician and Oklahoma native son Woody Guthrie and a collection of Guthrie's manuscripts; and the "Indians for Indians Hour" radio programs.

Collections

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

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

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

Online presentation: Voices from the Dust Bowl: The Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection: 363 sound recordings and accompanying photographs document the life, work, music, and cultural traditions of residents in the Farm Security Administration (FSA) migrant work camps in central California from 1940 to 1941.

Woody Guthrie and the Archive of American Folk Song: A collection of letters that highlights the correspondence between Woody Guthrie and staff of the Archive of American Folk Song (now the Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center). The material provides a unique perspective on Woody Guthrie's past, his art, his life in New York City, and his feelings about WWII.

Additional Resources

Educational Resources: View a list of educational materials related to Oklahoma from A Teacher's Guide to Folklife 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.

Published Recording: Woody Guthrie: The Library of Congress Recordings, Elektra EKL 301/2; reissued on Rounder 1044/1045/1046.