Humanities Council to sponsor oral history workshop

People interested in researching family histories and genealogies are encouraged to attend an oral history workshop to be sponsored by the NMI Council for the Humanities.

Scott Russell, program director for the Humanities Council, said the two-day workshop is also open to employees of offices and agencies such as museums, libraries, schools, and historic and cultural preservation organizations.

“Oral history is part of the broader historical record, one that is based in the everyday memories of everyday people. It is a rich store of experiences, unique in form but very fragile. If we do not collect and preserve these memories [and] stories, then one day they will disappear forever. We all have stories to tell; stories that we have lived from the inside out,” Russell noted.

He added, “Oral history is the systematic collection of living people’s testimony about their experiences, unwritten family and community histories, and cultural narratives reaching deep into the past.”

Russell said the workshop will provide basic instruction on collecting and preserving valuable oral treasures. It will be held on Sept. 1 and 2 at the Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.

The presenters at the workshop will be Julie Tellei, a human resource development officer for the Palau government’s Ministry of Health; and Dr. Felicia Beardsley, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of La Verne in California.

Tellei has been an oral historian for the past 10 years, documenting the histories of ancient village sites in Palau and of her own lineage and village.

“She has collaborated on several archaeological projects, where she would not only document the oral histories of long-abandoned traditional properties, but also record the life histories of the living clan descendants associated with those properties,” the Humanities Council said.

Beardsley is an archaeologist who specializes in the Pacific Islands, where she has worked for nearly two decades. She teaches courses in archaeology, forensics and ethnobotany at the University of La Verne. She has received commendations for her work from the governments of Japan, Yap, Kosrae, and various U.S. agencies.

Registration for the workshop is $75. The fee covers materials, refreshments and completion certification.