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Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

Smithsonian Voices

Syunik-Artsakh rug from the collection of the Local Lore Museum of Goris, 20th century. 
(Photo by Areg Balayan, My Armenia Program)

From Wool to Elegant Carpets: The Smoothest Route Through Armenia

Explore Armenia through its rich tapestry of textile production.

My Armenia Program | June 10, 2021
The Indianola dock stretches out into the Puget Sound. Since time immemorial, the Suquamish Tribe has sourced their sustenance, folklore, and community from the salt waters and pebbly beaches of the sound.

Photo by Julian White-Davis

The Struggle for Native Lands in Indianola, Washington

Indianola’s beaches were once the home of the Suquamish Tribe, or in their language, Southern Lushootseed, suq̀wabš—People of Clear Salt Water.

Julian White-Davis | June 8, 2021
Lisa Marie Thalhammer holds her original LOVE poster with her mural in the background. (Photo by Grant Langford)

This D.C. Muralist Finds Pride and Power in Public Art

Living in Washington, D.C., allows Thalhammer to be close to the political action. It’s important for her to be part of the national conversation. She participates in rallies supporting LGBTQ rights as well as the Women’s March.

Malgorzata Mical | June 3, 2021
From Insects, their way and means of living. Artwork by R. E. Snodgrass

Cicada Folklore, or Why We Don’t Mind Billions of Burrowing Bugs at Once

The earliest documented examples of cicada folklore come from China.

James Deutsch | May 25, 2021
인삼주 Insam-ju is a ginseng liquor made by preserving ginseng in alcohol above thirty proof. Korean people often make insam-ju at home and take a shot daily for its health benefits. It is also shared with special guests and is often paired with samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup). (Photo by Grace Dahye Kwon)

How Ginseng Connects Me to the Roots of My Korean American Community

Although I grew up in the Northern Virginia area, with the third largest Korean American population in the United States, I always felt foreign, even in my own neighborhood. Adults butchered my name “Dahye” until I finally changed it to “Grace,” just to get through morning roll call.

Grace Dahye Kwon | May 18, 2021
(Photo courtesy of Masatsu “Masa” Kawamoto collection, Division of Work and Industry, Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History)

Cowboys in the Tropics: A History of the Hawaiian Paniolo

In 1793, while Hawai‘i was still an independent republic, British Captain George Vancouver gifted King Kamehameha I a small amount of cattle that quickly multiplied. In the early nineteenth century, several Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) were sent to the islands to teach Hawaiians how to ride horses and maintain the cattle. Roping cattle and riding horses seem fitting in the prairie grasslands of Oklahoma, but the Hawaiian style of cowboy traditions is unique to the landscape.

Kate Harrington | May 12, 2021
Elexia Alleyne. Photo courtesy of the artist

Coming of Age in Poetry: An Interview with Elexia Alleyne

Growing up in D.C.’s barrio, Elexia remembers a vibrant, tight-knit Dominican community.

Carolina Meurkens | April 27, 2021
Chinese poetry carved on the wall of the Angel Island Immigration Station in the San Francisco Bay. (Text from Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, 1910-1940)

The Chinese Poetry Left at Angel Island, the “Ellis Island of the West”

Angel Island Immigration Station was built in 1910 in the San Francisco Bay mainly to process immigrants from China, Japan, and other countries on the Pacific Rim. Its primary mission was to better enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and other anti-Asian laws enacted in subsequent years.

Ying Diao | April 20, 2021
Elizabeth Acevedo (Photo by Jonathan B. Tucker)

How Poet Elizabeth Acevedo Brings Sacred Monsters to Life

What inspires Acevedo more than anything else are uncelebrated heroes. While pursuing an MFA in creative writing, she realized she wished to dedicate her writing to this idea. She felt somewhat isolated, as the only student in the program of African descent, of an immigrant background, and from a large city.

Monique-Marie Cummings | April 6, 2021
Children learning to weave carpets at Telik Crafts. (Photo by Narek Harutyunyan, My Armenia Program)

Traveling with the Little Ones: Entertainment in Armenia

No matter our age, we all like to travel. But let’s admit it, traveling with kids can be challenging.

My Armenia Program | April 1, 2021
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