Randy Williams, folklore curator and oral history specialist in Utah State University’s division of Special Collections and Archives at Merrill-Cazier Library, refers to the Latino/Latina Voices Project as “collaborative oral history.”

 

“Oral history work is a collaboration of the voices of humanity; yet the activity is often controlled and colored by those — myself included — who organize, direct, create the questions, conduct the interviews, analyze and then present the results,” Williams said. “The aim of community informed oral history involves the community — the group to be interviewed — as full collaborators in a project from concept to completion.”

 

In other words, the effort must be collaborative, involving many. The “human ties” need to emerge.

 

Coordinated by Williams and co-director Elisaida Mendez, the Latino/Latina Voices Project achieved that goal and was presented a 2009 “Human Ties Award” by the Utah Humanities Council. The award was presented in early September at a ceremony in Salt Lake City.

 

The Utah Humanities Council was established in 1975 to “deepen understanding of diverse traditions, values and ideas by helping people to explore the past, participate fully in the present and shape the future.” The council provides grants and technical assistance, sponsors programs to enrich public discussion and encourage civic involvement and collaborates with other cultural and educational leaders.

 

The council’s Human Ties Award honors individuals and organizations who work behind the scenes of highly successful projects and programs that have received UHC support in the past year.

 

USU’s Latino/Latina Voices Project began with a grant in 2007 that initiated the planning process and structure of the planned interviews. Additional funding from multiple sources supported the work, and in early 2008, transcriptions and some translations began. A symposium was presented in fall 2008.

 

“The Latino/Latina Voices Project was a bold initiative undertaken by USU Special Collections and Archives in 2007 to collect the voices of 45 Cache Valley Latino community members,” Williams said in remarks at the award ceremony. “We give heartfelt thanks to the amazing men and women who participated in this extraordinary oral history project, including Mr. Eduardo Ortiz. The beauty of the project is the voices of the individuals whose life experiences help inform our local, state and national story.”

 

As co-director of the project, Mendez played an important role, Williams said. Mendez coordinated the training and community fieldwork.

 

“We recognize and give thanks to the enthusiastic community interviewers who conducted the oral histories, many in their native language, Spanish,” Williams said. “This community collaboration was essential to the success of the project. I personally wish to thank Ellie Mendez, whose grace and dedication in training and overseeing all the community fieldworkers was amazing. The project was a success because of her.”

 

In her remarks, Mendez reported that the interviews feature people from Mexcio, Guatemala, Brazil, California, Utah and other locations through the United States and Central and South America. The interviewees talked about family traditions, religion, jobs and interests. The challenges associated with relocation, cultural identity and cultural differences also emerged in the interviews.

 

“Latina Voices Project was a rich experience for both interviewees and interviewers,” Mendez said. “The opportunity to tell one’s life experience, especially when you have, at times, been marginalized, in an empowering event. For many, this was their first experience with the university, and we hope this intimate introduction will be a springboard for further associations.”

 

Following the ceremony, Cynthia Buckingham, executive director of the Utah Humanities Council, thanked Williams and Mendez for their efforts.

 

“Thank you so much for allowing us to showcase your project as part of UHC’s 2009 Human Ties Awards program,” Buckingham said. “Your remarks illustrated perfectly how important these programs are and how UHC’s small grant funds help to spawn big ideas. We are proud to be associated with you.”

 

While efforts with the Latino/Latina Voices Project continues with additional translation work, the core foundation remains the same — to capture the diverse cultural voices of a growing segment in the community.

 

“The project was meaningful because it reflects a community that often isn’t represented in a library collection,” Williams said. “These are under-represented stories and voices. The Latino/Latina Voices Project worked to make these ‘voices’ heard now and in 20, 30 or even 50 years down the road.”

 

The entire collection from the Latino/Latina Voices Project is available at Utah State University’s Digital Library. Patrons can go online anywhere in the world and listen to the interviews and review the transcripts in Spanish or English.

 

Others honored at the 2009 Human Ties Awards include Boyer Jarvis, recipient of the Governor’s Award in the Humanities; Phillip Bimstein, UHC Alumni Award; Jim and Judy Dykman, Friends of the Humanities Award. Beyond USU’s award, three additional organizations and projects received the Human Ties Award, including the Orem Public Library and Lori Stevens for the Big Read: “To Kill a Mockingbird;” the Central Utah Art Center, Ephraim and Jared Latimer for Art Forums; and Salt Lake City and Judith Fuwell for the Venture Course in the Humanities.

 

 

Contact: Randy Williams (435) 797-3493