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The Festival of American Folklife: Building on Tradition Richard Kurin

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The Festival of American Folklife: Building on Tradition Richard Kurin The Festival of American Folklife: Building on Tradition Richard Kurin This summer marks the 25th annual Festival of Mary McGrory, then a reporter for The Evening American Folklife. Over the years more than Star, wrote, 16,000 musicians, dancers, craftspeople, storytell­ Thanks to S. Dillon Ripley, Secretary of the ers, cooks, workers, and other bearers of tradi­ Smithsonian Institution, thousands of tional culture from every region of the United people have been having a ball on the States and every part of the globe have come to Mall, watching dulcimer-makers, quilters, the National Mall in Washington to illustrate the potters and woodcarvers and listing to art, knowledge, skill and wisdom developed music. "My thought," said Ripley, "is that within their local communities. They have sung we have dulcimers in cases in the mu­ and woven, cooked and danced, spun and seum, but how many people have actually stitched a tapestry of human cultural diversity; heard one or seen one being made?" they have aptly demonstrated its priceless value. Their presence has changed the National Mall During the mid-1960s the Smithsonian Institu­ and the Smithsonian Institution. Their perform­ tion re-evaluated its approach to understanding ances and demonstrations have shown millions and interpreting American culture and its atten­ of people a larger world. And their success has dant institutional responsibilities. Secretary Ripley encouraged actions, policies and laws that pro­ reported his initiative to mount the first Festival mote human cultural rights. The Festival has been to the Board of Regents, the Smithsonian's gov­ a vehicle for this. And while it has changed in erning body, in February, 1967: various ways over the years, sometimes only to A program sponsored by the Smithsonian change back once again, the Festival's basic pur­ should reflect the Institution's founding pose has remained the same. Its energy and philosophy and current role. Although it strength is rooted in the very communities and has the world's largest collections of cultural exemplars it seeks to represent, and in American folk artifacts, the Smithsonian, small, but sometimes significant ways, to help. like all museums in our nation, fails to present folk culture fully and accurately. The First Festival Through the Bureau of American Ethnol­ The marble museums of the Smithsonian ogy, it has pioneered the collection, ar­ Institution are filled with beautiful hand­ chiving, analysis and publication of Ameri­ worn things made long ago by forgotten can Indian cultural data, [but] neither the American craftsmen. Nostalgic reminders Smithsonian nor any other research institu­ of our folk craft heritage, the museum tion has employed the methods of cultural exhibits are discreetly displayed, precisely anthropology in an extensive fieldwork labeled, and dead. program in American folk cultures. But the folk craft tradition has not died. The lack of museum expertise and the Yesterday it burst into life before the as­ absence of adequate field programs in tonished eyes of hundreds of visitors on American folklife studies has resulted from the Mall. (Paul Richard in The Washington a general ignorance of the abundance of Post, July 2, 1967, on the first Festival of our traditional cultures. Related to the American Folklife) collections and based on the philosophy of the Smithsonian, an exposition of the 7 Dejan 's Olympia Brass Band from Louisiana performs on the National Mall at the first Festival in 1967. Festival stages have generally remained small, encouraging intimate audience interaction. Photo Smithsonian Institution folk aesthetic on the Mall accompanied by Festival's Director and Marion Hope became the a seminar would be provocative. project assistant and then Festival coordinator A program presenting traditional crafts­ and assistant director. men and dancers as well as musicians Some in the U.S. Congress felt that Ripley's would convincingly demonstrate the vigor plans for the National Mall - which in addition of our folk traditions. At an interdiscipli­ to a Festival of American Folklife included a nary seminar, individuals with mutual carousel, outdoor evening concerts at the muse­ interests who are not ordinarily in commu­ ums, and a kite-flying contest - were frivolous, nication - including scholars, government that they would turn the Mall into a "midway." and foundation representatives as well as But Ripley and his supporters prevailed. Ripley concerned laymen - will explore the thought it made sense for the Smithsonian to go significance of the traditions displayed. outdoors and establish what some members of Secretary Ripley also envisioned the eventual Congress termed "a living museum." Education formation of an American Folklife Institute that could be fun. Serious purposes could be accom­ would establish "standards for research and inter­ plished on the nation's front lawn, historically pretation of our folkways" and "enable the Smith­ known as "Smithsonian Park." The Civil Rights sonian to provide the basis for a total view of marches had already dramatically demonstrated American culture." this. James Morris, then Director of the Professors and scientists had their universities Smithsonian's Museum Service, Ralph Rinzler, and publications; fine artists had their art galleries coming from the Newport Folk Foundation as an and museums; fine musicians had their sympho­ applied folklore consultant, and others took up nies and operas. The work of popular and com­ the task and the leadership of the project. Morris mercial artists was proclaimed in the mass media became Director of the newly constituted Divi­ of television, radio, recordings and magazines. sion of Performing Arts, Rinzler became the Where could the voices of "folks back home" be 8 heard so they too would contribute to our sense tors, folklorists D. K. Wilgus, Richard Dorson, of national culture, wisdom and art? Simply, the Roger Abrahams, Austin Fife, Archie Green and National Mall provided just such a platform for Don Yoder, anthropologist Ward Goodenough, people to speak to the rest of the nation. cantometrician Alan Lomax, cultural geographer Through the Festival, everyone could be repre­ Fred Kniffen, architect James Marston Fitch, rec­ sented; it made good sense as part of the na­ ord producer Moses Asch, historians, educators tiona! museum charged with presenting the story and other scholars from Mexico, Ireland, Canada, of human accomplishments. Members of Con­ and Switzerland. The conference addressed top­ gress understood this meant that their constitu- ics of American and international folklife studies, . ents, the people, the folks back home, would the relationship between folklife and history, have a place in the cultural life of the nation. applied folklife, and folklife in schools, museums, Texans and Ohioans, Mississippians and Hawai­ communities and government agencies. ians, Anglo-Americans from Appalachia and In the first Festival and Conference, several American Indians from the Plains, new and older important ideas emerged. The study of grassroots urban immigrants, children and elders, miners, traditional cultures was a multidisciplinary proj­ cowboys, carpenters and many others would all ect; factors affecting the survival of cultural tradi­ have a place - a special place - to represent tions in contemporary life had to be addressed; their cultural contributions. the study and presentation of cultures, through The first Festival included a variety of musi­ schools and other institutions was an essential cians and craftspeople from across the country part of public education; the Festival provided a -Bessie Jones and the Georgia Sea Island Sing­ collaborative means for scholars and culture bear­ ers, Moving Star Hall Singer Janie Hunter and ers to discuss and present their understandings of coil basketmaker Louise Jones from South Caro­ particular traditions and communities. lina, dulcimer maker Edd Presenell from North The Festival and Conference project was Carolina, Dejan's Olympia Brass Band from New viewed in 1967 as part of a larger strategy to Orleans, Navajo sandpainter Harry Belone, study, present and conserve traditional grassroots Acoma Pueblo potter Marie Chino, the Y omo cultures. The last session of the conference was Toro Puerto Rican Band and an Irish Ceilidh devoted to planning for a National, or American Band from New York, cowboy singer Glenn Folklore Institute. The Institute would sponsor Ohrlin, bluesman John Jackson, Libba Cotton, intensive scholarly fieldwork on American folk Russian Glinka dancers from New Jersey, King cultures, stimulate and preserve folk traditions Island Eskimo dancers from Alaska, and country through economic and educational assistance, blues singer Fred McDowell among many others. produce an annual festival, encourage regional The first Festival represented a convergence festivals and seminars, publish scholarly mono­ and distillation of several ideas. The name, graphs and seminar proceedings as well as more "folklife" was taken from the Pennsylvania popular works, produce documentary films, Folklife Festival and Don Yoder's scholarly adop­ maintain an archive, compile resource guides for tion of the European term. The Festival's juxta­ folk culture, disseminate educational materials to position of musical performance with crafts, nar­ schools, advise other government agencies on rative sessions, foodways and sales came from cultural conditions related to their programs, and Rinzler's pioneering experience at the Newport develop
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