The Qualitative Report Volume 16 Number 1 Article 2 1-1-2011 Culture for Sale? An Exploratory Study of the Crow Fair Thomas D. Bordelon University of Southern Indiana,
[email protected] Marie Opatrny University of Southern Indiana,
[email protected] Wendy G. Turner University of Southern Indiana,
[email protected] Steven D. Williams University of Southern Indiana Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr Part of the Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, and the Social Statistics Commons Recommended APA Citation Bordelon, T. D., Opatrny, M., Turner, W. G., & Williams, S. D. (2011). Culture for Sale? An Exploratory Study of the Crow Fair. The Qualitative Report, 16(1), 10-37. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2011.1037 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Qualitative Report at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Qualitative Report by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Culture for Sale? An Exploratory Study of the Crow Fair Abstract This paper describes an ethnographically-oriented participant-observation study conducted during the annual Crow Fair, held in south central Montana. Data collected included audio-recorded interviews with participants, participant observations, photographic and video recordings. Narrative interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparison method. Multiple data sources improved the veracity of this study through triangulation, and four themes emerged from the data: commercialization, alcohol abuse, spirituality, and community. The researchers discuss these themes and their conclusions regarding the "selling" of Native American culture as a form of cultural transmission.