FOLKLIFE IN FOCUS – Oral History and Folklife

Welcome to the Follow the Folklorist blog! Founded by Rebecca Snetlesaar and currently led by Nevada State Folklorist Brad McMullen, our blog is dedicated to exploring the rich tapestry of cultures, traditions, and celebrations that make Nevada such a vibrant state. Through our two main topics, Folklife in Focus and Notes from the Field, Brad will share his unique insights and experiences, providing a captivating glimpse into the diverse and fascinating world of Nevada folk traditions. Join us on this exciting journey as we delve into the stories, customs, and heritage that shape our state’s identity. Get ready to be inspired and amazed! 

Oral History and Folklife

Over the course of the following year, I’m going to be spending time working on the Our Nevada Stories Project as part of the America250 Nevada celebration. I’ll be traveling across the state, interviewing Nevadans about their stories and documenting their voices to share with people around the state, country, and the world. While interviews are a major part of any folklorist’s work, the project is less a folklife one and more an oral history project, documenting personal and community histories, rather than traditions. This month, I’m going to talk about how they compare and how you can get involved. 

As I’ve talked about in the past, folklife is all about people’s traditions. As a folklorist at an arts council, I’m particularly interested in the artistic traditions people have. One way to learn about people’s traditions is to interview them and ask what those traditions mean to them, who they learned them from, and what constitutes excellence to them, among other questions. 

Oral history, on the other hand, is concerned (as you might expect) with the historical events people have witnessed. While the method to collect oral history is the same, the kinds of questions an oral historian asks are going to be different, looking for different memories and ideas than a folklorist. Oral history excels in getting multiple views on an event or capturing everyday events in a community or location that help provide important context for historical events. 

Now, you might ask why collecting oral history is a part of the America250 celebration. The celebration here also includes a focus on youth civic engagement and volunteering. Still, oral history projects, such as Our Nevada Stories, serve as a way to document what it was like to be here in 2025. The stories I’ll be collecting will serve as a record of what it means to be an American and a Nevadan at this moment, as well as looking back at the moments that led to now. As with any state and country, there have been highs and lows. The only way to deal with that legacy is to engage with it through the voices of the people who lived it. If you’re interested in other oral history projects documenting the voices of Nevadans, check out the Nevada Legislature’s Oral History Project, the University of Nevada Oral History Collection, and the Oral History Research Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. 

If you’re interested in sharing your story as part of Our Nevada Stories, you can submit your story on the America250 Nevada site. And if there’s someone else in your community who you think has a valuable story to share, you can nominate them. Later this fall, we’ll also have ways for you to submit your story directly. So, stay tuned for that! If you have any other questions or want to let me know about some family tradition you have, feel free to email me.

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Visit the Nevada Folklife Archives on Flickr