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Iowa
The American Folklife Center was created in 1976 by the U.S. Congress through Public Law 94-201 and charged to "preserve and present American folklife." The Center incorporates the Archive
of Folk Culture, which was established at the Library of Congress in 1928, and is now one of the largest collections of ethnographic material from the United States and around the world.
Collections
The collections of the American Folklife Center contain rich and varied
materials from Iowa that document the diversity of the state's folk traditions.
Among its unique recordings are hammered dulcimer music; German festival
music; fiddle tunes; cylinder recordings of Mesquakie songs collected in
the 1910s; Amish and Mennonite music; tapes of the 1976 Iowa Folk Festival;
and duck calls. In 1982, the Center's Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools
Project documented a Czech school in Cedar Rapids and a Dutch school in
Pella. The material created during this project has been incorporated into
the collections of the Folklife Center.
- Iowa Collections in the Archive of
Folk Culture [full text]
Iowa participated in the Library's Bicentennial Local Legacies project,
which includes documentation of local traditions and celebrations for the
American Folklife Center's Archive of Folk Culture.
Concert Webcast
July 26, 2006: Natasinh
Dancers & Musicians. Lao music and dance from Iowa. [webcast and event flyer]
Field Research Projects
Publications
- "Czech School," Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools in America. [catalog record]
Published Recordings
- Play and Dance Songs and Tunes, Library of Congress AFS L9. [audiocassette]
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