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.
Jose Antonio Huerta demonstrates rope work on stage. He wears a red collared shirt, blue jeans, cowboy boots and a white cowboy hat.
Jose Antonio Huerta
Charreria
Jose Antonio Huerta (Springfield) performs traditional Charrería (cowboy rope work). Charrería is a skill and art form that involves horsemanship, cattle work, and a sophisticated use of the rope that dates back to the 1500s. Huerta, a 2013 Oregon Folklife Network Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program Master Artist, showcases his work at local community gatherings.
José Martinez stands in his workshop wearing a plaid shirt and an apron containing various tools.
José Martinez
Leatherworking
José Martinez (Portland) is a third-generation (leather craftsman) who works with his wife and three sons to create traditional Oaxacan sandals and other fashionable leather goods. He was born in Oaxaca, Mexico where his father and grandfather worked in the craft.
José Ramirez stands in front of a white wall holding a violin and wearing a white collared shirt.
José Ramirez
Mariachi Music
José Ramirez (Tualatin) is a third-generation mariachi violinist and band leader. After moving to Oregon from Mexico City in 2009, Ramirez founded his band, Mariachi La Perla, which features two trumpets, a guitarrón (bass guitar), a vihuela (small, 5-stringed guitar), and three violins.
Joseph Armand Lavadour stands in front of a gray house and holds a yellow, red, and blue woven basket. He wears a gray t-shirt and blue plaid pajama pants.
Joseph Armand Lavadour
Basket Weaving
Joey Lavadour (Pendleton) is a Native basket weaver who uses the full-turn twining method. He was raised around Pendleton, where he was always around weaving. Lavadour learned much of his technique from Carrie Sampson, an elder at Umatilla.
Josue Mendoza riding a horse and performing rope skills. He is wearing a white cowboy hat, blue shirt, and tan leather chaps.
Josue Noel Napoles Mendoza
Charrería
Josue Noel Napoles Mendoza (Portland) was born and raised in Portland, OR, but his family is also from the state of Michoaca'n in Mexico where he first started learning the art of charrería. His grandfather, Jose, would take Josue to Mexico every year and he would teach Josue how to ride horses and gather and work with livestock. Josue's grandfather has done charrería, and slowly over the years, he started teaching Josue into the lifestyle. Josue has since gained a passion for the sport and cultural tradition of charrería and over the years Josue has honed his skills.
Judi Galvin sits at a table next to a sewing machine and weaves a small blue rug. She wears a denim shirt over a white floral shirt.
Judi Galvin
Rug Braiding
Judi Galvin (Arlington) makes traditional braided rag rugs. Galvin, who was inspired by her husband’s aunts, taught herself the time-honored skill of recycling second-hand clothes and hand-me-downs into useful rugs.
Judy Zhou holds a red and white papercut art piece. She wears a pink long sleeve shirt under a blue corduroy apron.
Judy Zhou
Chinese Dough Sculpting, Paper Cutting, and Fan Dance
Judy Zhou (Portland) creates dough sculpture and papercuts, which she learned how to make from her grandmother in China. Zhou’s grandmother also taught her the intricate art of Chinese paper cutting. Zhou continues to practice these traditional arts to honor the memories of her mother and grandmother.
Julie Johnson holds and talks about a piece of regalia. She wears a blue and white striped shirt and navy blue cardigan.
Julie Johnson
Native American Regalia, Beadwork, Powwow Dancing
Julie Johnson (Salem, Burns Paiute Reservation), an enrolled member of the Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe, is known for her jingle dress making, beadwork, regalia, and dance. She performed in the opening ceremony of the Salt Lake City Olympics.
Kate Davidson stands in a kitchen and wears a striped blue and white shirt and a gray cardigan.
Kate Davidson
Midwifery
Kate Davidson (Silverton) is a retired direct-entry midwife – credentialed without first becoming a nurse. Davidson was a driving force in the establishment of certification for direct-entry midwives in Oregon. In addition to taking care of women’s health, she is a talented artist, avid gardener, and excellent cook. She especially enjoys preparing traditional Jewish holiday foods.
A black and white image of Kathy Moss wearing a cowboy hat and speaking into a microphone.
Kathy Moss
Cowboy Poet, Buckaroo, Horse Trainer, Rancher
Kathy Moss (Prairie City) is a cowboy poet, buckaroo, horse trainer, and rancher who writes poetry and fiction about the working buckaroo life. Her writing, which includes published essays and books as well as CDs, is based on her own experiences working with horses, cattle, and people across Oregon. She has dedicated her life to understanding horse communication.
Portrait of Katie Harris Murphy, Native American woman wearing beaded buckskin.
Katie Harris Murphy
Native American Regalia, Beadwork
Katie Harris Murphy (Pendleton) is a bead worker and traditional artist of the Wallowa Band Nimiipuu, Cayuse, Umatilla & Karuk tribes. She is a bead worker at Harris Sisters Co., where she and her two sisters "make traditional beadwork & leatherwork while having a huge appreciation for western and Indigenous fashion".
Kelli Palmer stands in front of a white wall wearing a black and white floral blouse.
Kelli Palmer
Wampus and Cornhusk Basketry
Kelli Palmer (Warm Springs) is a Warm Springs Cornhusk Weaver. Palmer uses dried cornhusk, hemp, and buckskin (brain-tanned, smoked deer hide) to make her traditional baskets. Palmer, an Oregon Folklife Network Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program Master Artist in 2012, creates cornhusk baskets traditionally worn around the waist and used for dried food storage.
Kelsey Furuta stands on a stage and energetically plays two large taiko drums. She wears a blue wrap shirt and dark pants.
Kelsey Furuta
Taiko Drumming
Kelsey Furuta (Beaverton) is a taiko drummer and a member of Portland Taiko. A fourth-generation Japanese-American, Futura began playing at age ten. Since then, Furuta has toured the country with the Los Angeles-based TaikoProject, studied with taiko master Kenny Endo, and become a core member of Portland Taiko.
Kent Buys stands in a workshop with acoustic guitars hanging on the walls. He wears a white shirt under a black vest and a beige apron.
Kent Buys
Musical Instrument Restoration and Repair
Kent Buys (Corvallis) is a master instrument repairman. At his shop, the Troubadour Music Center, he carefully restores and repairs a variety of international and national stringed instruments while also teaching his apprentices, trained thirteen since the 1970s, the finer points of this painstaking work. He takes great pleasure in returning repaired instruments to his performers, far more than he would by performing himself. Buys also hosts musical performances at the Center.
Kenya Marquez a smiles, wearing flowers in her hair.
Kenya Marquez
Mexican Folk Dance
Dr. Kenya Marquez (Portland) is a Mexican Folk dancer. She first danced at home with her mother and went on to study traditional dance internationally. Her dance troupe, Ballet Papalotl, embodies the rich and diverse cultural heritage that Mexican folk dance represents.
Kevin Strauslin stands outside of his shop and wears a brown t-shirt that says "papa bear" and a light brown baseball cap.
Kevin Strauslin
Chainsaw Carving
Kevin Strauslin (Salem) is a chainsaw carver who follows his inspiration. He carves everything from bears and eagles to wizards and dragons. He also does quirky pieces that reflect his personality. Strauslin and one of his sons,Tyler Strauslin, work together at his shop, Oregon 3D Art and Chainsaw Sculptures, LLC.
Kitty Lauman rides a brown horse in an outdoor arena. She wears a beige brimmed hat, plaid shirt, beige vest, and blue jeans.
Kitty Lauman
Horse Training
Kitty Lauman (Prineville) is a horse trainer whose grandfather was the legendary horse trainer, John Sharp. Working as a team, Lauman and her grandfather could gentle a wild mustang in two hours. Today, Lauman conducts horse training clinics at her home facility and throughout the region using some of the same bamboo pole and rope gentling techniques her grandfather developed back in the 1930s.
the artist, Knute Nemeth, is smiling jovially at the camera. He is a middle aged man, with grey hair and a full, healthy beard. He is wearing a baseball cap, a purple and red plaid shirt, and thick black suspenders. Behind him is the brown molted hull of a boat. The sun bounces off the apples of his cheeks and the grey of his beard.
Knute Nemeth
commercial fisherman, towboat crew, marine storyteller
Knute Nemeth (Charleston) is a commercial fisherman and storyteller. He’s also been part of a towboat crew, a US Navy seaman, and, most recently, captained the Charleston Marine Life Center’s research vessel. He also runs Tuna Guys, which catches and sells tuna caught on the Oregon coast.
A photo of Kristine
Kristine (Khrystyna) Mushkevych
Ukrainian Pysanka (Egg Decorating)
Kristine (Khrystyna) Mushkevych (Beaverton) is a traditional Ukrainian pysanka (Ukrainian egg decorating) artist from Lviv (Ukraine). An active member of the Portland-Beaverton Ukrainian community and an advocate for Ukrainian culture, Mushkevych makes traditional and modern pysanka eggs, teaches lectures and workshops on the tradition, and participates in various efforts to increase the support of Ukrainian language and culture in Oregon.
Laila Griffith stands in a kitchen wearing a red sweater.
Laila Griffith
Norwegian Foodways
Laila Griffith (Klamath Falls) is a traditional Norwegian cook and baker. Particularly known for her lefse, a large, rolled potato flatbread, Griffith enjoys making her mother’s traditional recipes.

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