Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma

The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma will launch a digital storytelling project to enhance its efforts to expand and sustain access to elders' stories for current and future generations. Project staff will attend a professional digital storytelling workshop to learn the technical skills needed for capturing oral stories for cultural preservation. Elder interviews will be conducted using techniques gained from the trainings, and the tribe will host a storytelling forum to encourage community dialogue of storytelling, preservation, and cultural engagement. A discussion guide will be created to accompany the stories with a transcript of the interviews and background information on the elders. The final product will be a digitized collection of stories in DVD format. Up to 1,500 copies of the DVD will be disseminated to every Eastern Shawnee home and local tribes and partners, and the remaining copies will be preserved in the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma Library and Museum.