A guitar player with a friendly smile, wearing a festive hat and a traditional serape shawl.
Oregon Culture Keepers Roster
About the Oregon Culture Keepers Roster

Search the online Oregon Culture Keepers Roster—an ever-expanding, juried selection of folk and traditional artists—and connect with cultural experts documented through our regional surveys and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program.

Rostered artists and culture keepers can provide educational presentations, hands-on demonstrations, or performances to a variety of audiences. We recommend a fee of at least $250 plus travel expenses unless otherwise noted, for such appearances. We do not serve as a booking agent, so please contact the artists directly.

Search the roster by county or keyword to find

  • highly skilled traditional artists for your classroom,
  • storytellers for your library event,
  • cultural experts for your humanities program,
  • performers for your festival stage, or
  • craft artists for demonstrations.

Check back often—we regularly add new folk and traditional artists!

Apply

Interested in applying to be on the roster?

First, review OFN’s definition of a Culture Keeper:

  • A Culture Keeper is a folk or traditional artist, who actively practices, passes on, and preserves the living cultural traditions of the cultural community to which they belong and is recognized by that community. Folk and traditional arts do not include folk-inspired art, which is produced by individuals and groups who are not part of the cultural community that originally produced/created/developed the art form, even if the quality of the art is excellent.

Second, fill out and send in the application form and all required work samples.

Or contact us at 541-346-3820 | ofn@uoregon.edu for assistance.

Culture Keepers Roster Map

 

 

Found 285 profiles.
Gayle poses while painting.
Gayle Oram
Norweigan Rosemåling
Gayle Oram (Pleasant Hill) is a traditional Norwegian Rosemåler. Rosemåling is the decorative art of painting objects with stylized flower and scroll motifs. Oram has been painting for more than thirty years. She holds an Master of Decorative Art certification and has traveled all over the United States and abroad to teach Rosemåling. Oram has written eight books and counting on the subject.
Grace Ann Kalama stretches a piece of fry bread dough. She wears a purple t-shirt.
Grace Ann Kalama
Native American Foodways
Grace Ann Kalama (Warm Springs) makes and sells homemade Indian fry bread at the family’s Kalama Family Fry Bread stand. Using flour, baking powder, milk, sugar, and water, she creates the dough, then fries it in hot oil. The Kalama stand is a fixture of the Warm Springs community with many regular customers.
Gregorio Cortaberria sits outside on a teal bucket and holds a mason jar. He wears a yellow t-shirt with suspenders and blue jeans.
Gregorio Cortaberria
Sheep Shearing
Gregorio Cortaberria (Hermiston) is an expert sheep shearer. In his prime, he could shear over 100 sheep in an hour.
Members of Grupo Condor stand outside holding woodpipes, a drum, and an acoustic guitar.
Grupo Condor
Latin American Folk Music and Musical Instruments
Grupo Condor is a touring folk music ensemble that blends the styles of Spanish, African, and Native American influences. Grupo Condor members are dedicated to the preservation of their diverse heritage and musical backgrounds. Residents of Oregon, group members have traveled throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico and Europe.
Hal Gordon stands in front of two picture frames on a white wall. He wears a brown polo shirt.
Hal Gordon
Fly Tying
Hal Gordon (Aloha) is a traditional fly tyer and fisherman who teaches fly tying and sells his flies in many local shops in Aloha area. In 2010, he was named Oregon’s Federation of Fly Fishers “Fly Tyer of the Year” and currently chairs multiple state and local fly tying associations.
Hobe Kytr sits in front of a while wall and holds a banjo. He wears a blue collared shirt.
Hobe Kytr
Folklorist, Songwriter, and Musician
Hobe Kytr (Astoria, OR) is a folklorist, songwriter, and musician who specializes in songs about the history and folklore of Northwest regional life, especially that of fishermen and loggers. Hobe has worked to identify and reanimate songs in archival texts and other discovered sources.
Hossein Salehi sits with a santoor instrument. He wears a navy blue blazer and gray dress pants.
Hossein Salehi
Santoor Music, Traditional Persian Music
Hossein Salehi (Portland) is a master santoor player who has played and taught in Oregon and the United States since the 1980s.
Houshang Sedighi stands against a white background. He wears a black suit and a red and black tie.
Houshang Sedighi
Kurdish Dance
Houshang Sedighi (Beaverton) is a traditional Kurdish dancer and dance teacher. Govend, Helperkê, and hayî are among a group of handholding dances similar to those from other cultures in the Middle East. Most dances are also circle dances that often feature a single dancer or a couple at the center of the circle.
Roberta Kirk stands outside on grass. She is wearing black regalia with red, green, and blue beaded adornments as well as hoop earrings and sunglasses.
H’Klumaiyat-Roberta Kirk
Tenino and Wasq’u Regalia Maker, Food Gatherer, Bead and Dentalium Work
H’Klumaiyat-Roberta Kirk (Warm Springs) is a traditional regalia maker and food gatherer who does traditional Wasq’u and Tenino bead and dentalium work and makes Plateau shell dresses as well as moccasins and more. She is a designated food gatherer for the Simnasho Longhouse in Warm Springs, runs sweats, serves as Archives and Museum Collections Manager for the Museum at Warm Springs, and has consulted for museums on Native American artifacts.
A photo of Inna Kovtun in a traditional costume
Inna Kovtun
Ukrainian Folklorist, Singer, and Dancer
Inna Kovtun (Portland) is a traditional Ukrainian singer, dancer, and folklorist from Kyiv (Ukraine). Kovtun performs and teaches workshops on Ukrainian folk song and dance, researches Ukrainian folklore, and actively participates in initiatives that support Ukraine and promote Ukrainian culture in Portland and elsewhere.
Irene Young wearing a pink shirt and standing against a tan wall.
Irene Young
Quilter, Knitter
Irene Young (Medford) is a machine quilter and knitter. As a young girl, she learned to knit from her aunt and mother and to quilt from a variety of quilt groups and classes in southern Oregon. She has a strong interest in color, design, and texture and especially enjoys quilting for a variety of social causes.
Jack Armstrong wears a plaid blue long sleeve shirt and a white cowboy hat.
Jack Armstrong
Rawhide Braiding
Jack Armstrong (Lakeview) is a traditional rawhide braider particularly known for his bosal hackamores (bridles), mecates (reins), and riatas (lassoes). Dedicated to the work and lifestyle of the cowboy, he sells his finished pieces to other cowboys as well as to American and international collectors.
Jake Fallesen stands outside in front of a tree and wears a blue and white plaid shirt and green baseball cap.
Jake Fallesen
Auctioneer, Sheep Farmer
Jake Fallesen (Crabtree) has raised sheep since 1958 and since the 1970s worked as an auctioneer throughout the Western US. Fallesen started the Scio Friday Night Auction, which became a monthly community event that features everything from retail goods to yard sale items, friendship, and fun.
James Akenson kneels while shooting a bow and arrow and wears a gray shirt, camouflage hat, and blue jeans.
James Akenson
Traditional Bow Hunting
James Akenson (Enterprise) is a traditional bowhunter. He uses his pack animals to reach the more remote hunting areas in the region, and prefers ground hunting for elk, mule deer, or whitetail deer. Akenson learned to hunt as a teenager, and works today as president of the national Professional Bowhunters Society to promote and preserve the traditional values of the wooden bow.
James Dionne stands outside and holds a brown feather creation and wears a blue shirt.
James Dionne
Native American Ritual Practices / Sweat Lodge Circle and Powwow Dancing
James Dionne (Ontario) is a Native American tradition keeper from Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota. Dionne leads sweat lodges at his home and dances Pow-Wow with family and friends at community festivals.
James stands outside leaning against a wood chunk and wears a long sleeve blue shirt, gray baseball cap, and black pants.
James Lukinich
Chainsaw Carving
James Lukinich (Willamina) is a chainsaw carver. Originally from Oregon, Lukinich taught himself to carve with a chainsaw while he was working as a logger in the Alaska wilderness. He spent most of his career as an arborist in California and Colorado. Now back home in Oregon, he carves professionally full-time.
James Nash and Paul Pagano pose outdoors next to a boat named "Dugbar Ranch"
James Nash and Paul Pagano
Fly Fishing and River Guiding
James Nash and Paul Pagano (Enterprise) are friends who work closely with one another through 6 Ranch Fly Fishing and Winding Waters River Expeditions, two businesses that outfit trips on local rivers like the Snake, Grande Ronde, and Wallowa. As river guides, Nash and Pagano combine gifts for outdoorsmanship and teaching. They also carry on a rich culture of storytelling and humor related to river guiding that is a hallmark of the trade.
Jamie Wilson stands outside at her ranch in front of metal bars wearing a gray hoodie.
Jamie Wilson
Leatherworking, Ranching
Jamie Wilson (Grass Valley) is a leather worker and rancher. Wilson got her first horse at age five, and learned to ranch from her father. After high school, Wilson attended saddlery school. Today, she typically works with leather during the winter months on the ranch. She makes chinks (half length chaps) chaps, horse tack, and other functional items.
Jamshid sits in a room with a wooden santur instrument. He wears a green sweater with a black abstract pattern on it.
Jamshid Fazel-Hamedani
Iranian Folk Music
Jamshid Fazel-Hamedani (Lake Oswego) is an Iranian (Persian) santur player. The santur, an Iranian/Persian dulcimer, is trapezoidal in shape. The player uses two mezrabs, delicate mallets, to strike the strings of the santur. Fazel-Hamedani most enjoys playing at home for holidays with family and friends.
Janet Komoto stands outside with her arms outstretched and plays a taiko drum. She wears a red, white, and blue robe.
Janet Komoto
Taiko Drumming
Janet Komoto (Ontario) is a Taiko drummer who started performing and teaching this Japanese percussion tradition in 2000. Many of her students are 4th and 5th generation Japanese-Americans.

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