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.

Found 59 profiles.
Nitu Rajbahndari stands in front of a white door and wears a red shirt, blue floral skirt, yellow fabric belt, and a green necklace.
Nitu Rajbahndari
Nepalese Classical and Folk Dance
Nitu Rajbahndari (Beaverton) is a Nepalese classical and folk dancer. Rajbahndari performs classical ritual and regional ethnic folk dances for special events in her community and with the Nepali Organization of Oregon.
Patricia Whereat Phillips stands outside with trees in the background. She wears a black shirt and a gray backpack.
Patricia Whereat Phillips
Traditional Storytelling
Patricia Whereat Phillips (Coos Bay), a Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw traditional storyteller and language keeper, is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians. Phillips, a 2015 Master Artist with the Oregon Folklife Network Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, learned Tribal history and traditions from her father and other Tribal elders. Stories are key to sharing the indigenous culture, heritage, and its relationship to the land.
An image of Prekshita dancing.
Prekshita Jain
Bharatha Natyam Classical Indian Dance
Prekshita Jain was born in the culturally rich city, Bangalore in Karnataka state in South India. Being from a traditional South Indian family, she was exposed to a lot of classical music and dance forms early on in her childhood. Jain has been learning and performing classical and folk dances for past twenty years with over 100 performances both in India and in the US.
Rosie Tom stands outside on a grassy field with trees and bushes in the background. She wears a black fleece jacket.
Rosie Tom
Beadwork, Basketry
Rosie Tom (Warm Springs) is a master bead worker whose experience dates back to the 1960s. Tom also makes moccasins, gloves, baskets, and quilts. She gathers and cooks native foods such as salmon, roots, and berries. Tom is actively involved in the NW Native American Basket Weavers Association and the Great Basin Native Basket Weavers Association.
Sara Barton stands next to a table with an article of Native American regalia made from leather and decorated with small beadwork. She is wearing a purple shirt, blue jeans, and sunglasses.
Sara Barton
Native American Basketry/Cradleboard-Making/Regalia
Sara Barton (Hines) is a traditional basketmaker who hails from a long line of basketmakers. Though her own ancestry is a mix of Mono Lake Paiute and Yosemite Miwuk, she now assists the Burns Paiute in keeping their basket and cradleboard traditions.
Sara Scott stands next to a white wire rack with crafted rawhide objects. She is wearing a lime shirt and a white hooded sweatshirt.
Sara Scott
Root Digging, Leatherworking, Beadwork
Sara Scott (Warm Springs) is a traditional leather and bead worker as well as a root digger. Scott learned the traditions from her family and continues to practice them. She still digs roots on the south end of the Reservation where her grandmother first taught her to dig.
Shannin Stutzman
Kalapuya and Hanis Coos Drummer and Singer, Storyteller, Educator
Shannin Stutzman (Yoncalla), of Hanis Coos and Kalapuya heritage, is a traditional drummer, singer, storyteller, and educator. She performs and demonstrates her cultural traditions in schools and at public events and also coordinates the Indian Education Summer Camp, which her mother, Esther Stutzman, founded in the late 1970s. Stutzman also creates a variety of artwork inspired by her heritage and is enrolled with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz.
Woman holding a fiddle.
Shari Ame
Irish and Appalachian Fiddling Teacher
Shari Ame (Corvallis) is an Irish and Appalachian fiddler, teacher, and contra dance musician. She always wanted to be a fiddler, and started playing violin in the school orchestra at age nine, then started Irish fiddle as a teenager.
Shirod Younker stands next to a large yellow and red painting with a wooden canoe oar. He is wearing a gray vest, a black long-sleeved shirt, dark blue jeans, and a black hat.
Shirod Younker
Canoe Paddle Carving
Shirod Younker, Upper Coquille and Miluk Coos tribes, (Portland) carves canoe paddles that closely follow his ancestors’ traditions. This work inspired his tribe to construct traditional canoes and participate in the annual Tribal Canoe Journey. Younker manages an artists-in-residence program for Native American teens at the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts.
Sreevidhya Chandramouli sitting in front of her instrument.
Sreevidhya Chandramouli
Karaikudi Vina Performer
Sreevidhya Chandramouli (Portland) is a tenth-generation descendant from the illustrious Karaikudi Vina Tradition of South India. In the last three decades, she has contributed to the musical tapestry in Oregon through universities and private teaching. She often selects students to reside with her to learn the art in depth. Many of the students learn to perform and teach as they advance their careers in various fields. Through her own solo and group performances with her family, she brings the grandeur of the tradition to her community.
Sridharini Sridharan
Bharatanatyam Classical Indian Dance
Sridharini Sridharan (Hillsboro) started dancing at the age of 7 and had her “arangetram” (a debut performance that symbolizes the end of her apprenticeship and the beginning of her professional mastery) at the age of 12 in the presence of the doyen of Bharatanatyam - Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam. Sridharan founded her dance school, Kalashiksha in 2016, where she teaches over 30 students of various ages to continue this traditional art form.
Stephanie Craig is standing in front of an audience holding a small woven basket. She is wearing a gray shirt with black cardigan and is gesturing with her left hand.
Stephanie Craig, anqati təmtəm tənas siyaxus
Basket Making
Stephanie Craig, anqati təmtəm tənas siyaxus (Dayton) is one of few basket-weavers in the Grand Ronde tradition. The family stories Craig grew up with continue to spur her on. She has now taught over 5000 students in the Pacific Northwest region, California, and Utah, saying, “the best...I can do to keep this going is to teach as many people as I can.”
A picture of Sushmita.
Sushmita Poddar
Indian Folk Dance and Henna Painting
Sushmita Poddar (Hillsboro) is an Asian Indian folk and classical dancer, henna artist, and teacher. After opening her own dance school, Poddar has taught workshops at community events, schools, and businesses across the area for 10 years.
the artist, Sweet Ravisankar, in the midst of dance
Sweta Ravisankar
Bharatanatyam Classical Indian Dance
Sweta Ravisankar is a Bharatanatyam performing artist, teacher, and choreographer. She has been dancing for nearly three decades, andholds a Masters in Bharatanatyam, MFA, and is the artistic director of Sarada Kala Nilayam (SKN), where she teaches Bharathanatyam and Nattuvangam. Sweta also trains beginner youth and adult dancers who are now growing into serious cultural arts practitioners.
Teresa Cavender stands outside in a forested area. She is wearing a blue blouse and a beaded necklace.
Teresa Cavender
Beadwork, Felting
Teresa Cavender (Gates), a member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, is an expert in beadwork and is experienced in leatherwork, basket-making and other crafts. Her work, which reflects her Native American heritage, also include her own personal twist.
Thomas MorningOwl stands outside and gestures with his right hand. He is wearing a blue t-shirt and light blue jeans. He is also wearing a beaded necklace with a beaded pouch.
Thomas MorningOwl
Umatilla Language, Cornhusk Weaving, Drum Making, Healing Arts, Traditional Dancing
Thomas MorningOwl (Pilot Rock) is a cornhusk weaver, drum maker, and traditional dancer. He has spent his life learning those traditional Umatilla skills as well as healing arts and language skills.
Tulehoidjad pose in front of a Scandinavian boat. They are wearing traditional embroidered outfits.
Tulehoidjad
Estonian Folk Dance
Tulehoidjad (Portland), an Estonian folk dance troupe, has kept Estonian folk dances alive in the region for four generations. In 1950, Lehti Merilo founded the group, and her daughter, Liina Teose, has directed the group since 1985. Tulehoidjad performs a wide range of Estonian dances including circle, line, and partner dances.
Wambui Machua poses in front of a white wall. She is wearing a turquoise patterned outfit and a large necklace.
Wambui Machua
Kenyan Foodways
Wambui Machua (Portland/Beaverton) is a Kenyan chef and owner of Spice of Africa, a Portland-based African restaurant. Born in Nairobi, Kenya and of Kikiyu heritage, Machua learned to cook from the matriarchs of her family. Today she teaches African cooking classes, caters, sells food at markets, and funds charitable projects in Kenya.
Wilverna Reece wearing a white and blue plaid shirt and jeans. She is standing outside in front of some bushes.
Wilverna Reece
Karuk Basket Weaving
Wilverna Reece (Happy Camp, Calif.) is a traditional Karuk basket maker and weaver. Reece, who has served on the Karuk Tribal Council, learned from her mentor 35 years ago. Today, she passes along her traditional knowledge to a new generation.

Back to Top