The next episode of the Sound Files podcast is ready for listening!
This episode features a conversation with Leslie McCartney, curator of oral history at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), who tells us about oral history work, a special collection of history and Native Alaska languages recorded in the 1970s, and how these rare sound recordings capture a unique perspective on the past. McCartney was project director for an audio preservation project for these recordings
of Unangax̂ (Alaska Aleut) peoples and languages,
which was funded by the NRPF in 2020.
Show hosts Jesse Johnston and Evan Haywood talk with Leslie McCartney about the work of preserving these oral history recordings, now held at the UAF. During the conversation, Leslie tells us about the history of the tapes for the “Cuttlefish Project,” undertaken in the 1970s by a class of high school students in Unalaska and their teacher Ray Hudson. We also discuss the significance of some of these recordings as documents of various Native Alaskan languages, the history of Native and Russian settlement in the remote Aleutian Islands, and the significance of recorded sound as a unique carrier of historical information.
Throughout the episode, we share exceprts of audio digitized with support from the National Recording Preservation Foundation. These are now available courtesy of the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The episode includes short clips from the following full tapes:
- Excerpts from “Aleut Words and Phrases” narrated by Nick Galaktionoff, from a 1977 audiotape, courtesy Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks, identifer ORAL HISTORY 97-245-48. Catalog record and audio link.
- Excerpts from “Games and songs with Anfesia Shapsnikoff, Vasilii ‘Bill’ Tcheripanoff and Dorothy Jones” digitized from an audiotape, courtesy Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks, recording identifer ORAL HISTORY 97-245-43. Catalog record and audio link.
- Excerpts from “An interview with Sophie Pletnikoff in 1978” digitized from an audiotape, courtesy Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks, recording identifier ORAL HISTORY 97-245-17. Catalog record and audio link.
You can find the full collection of the Cuttlefish archive on the UAF’s historical audio page.
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About the podcast
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Meet the Hosts
Jesse A. Johnston
Jesse A. Johnston, M.S.I., Ph.D., serves as Executive Director and Secretary of NRPF. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information. He has worked in various archival and library rules, including at the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Learn more about Jesse at www.jesseajohnston.net.
Evan Haywood
Evan Haywood is podcast host, producer, and engineer for NRPF’s Sound Files. Evan is an audio engineer and founder of Black Ram Sound and Black Ram Treehouse recording studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He holds a Master’s of Science in Information, with a specialization in digital archives, from the University of Michigan School of Information.
Credits
Sound Files is hosted by Jesse Johnston, NRPF Executive Director and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, and Evan Haywood, audio preservationist and podcast manager for NRPF. Each episode features original music by Evan and is recorded, edited, and mastered at the Black Ram Tree House studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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