Storytelling

An organization on campus is working to make sure every Salt Lake City resident's story is told.

The American West Center, located in the Annex Building, has been in operation for 43 years, working to collect and distribute history in the Salt Lake Valley.

"The AWC has a huge archive of rare and valuable historical information, including a significant amount of records on Native American communities," said Chris Peterson, an environmental humanities graduate student and research assistant at the center.

The center's three focal points include collecting and disseminating knowledge of American Indians in the West, communities of color in the Salt Lake Valley and Western environments.

The AWC is probably best known for its vast collection of oral histories. The collection includes more than 2,000 oral histories from American Indian elders and is found in the Marriott Library's Special Collections.

"The center has been conducting research and doing oral histories for over 40 years," said Dan McCool, co-director of the center.

The collection also includes oral histories from other minority groups and a recently added collection of World War II veterans' stories titled, "Saving the Legacy."

In addition to collecting oral histories, the center's researchers also write textbooks for local minority communities.

"We want kids to know their peoples' own stories," said Matt Basso, co-director of the center.

The center is currently working to update its writers' textbooks and create new sets of histories for underrepresented minorities in both written and multimedia works.

"Virtually no other center in the country has such a large and diversified portfolio of projects," McCool said.

"Students should know that the AWC is a resource and a treasure trove of fascinating information," Peterson said. "The AWC can provide information unavailable anywhere else in the world."

The American West Center's staff hopes to continue researching and collecting oral and minority histories in the next 40 years.

"We absolutely welcome any student interested in taking part in research and partnering with faculty and graduates," Basso said. "We want undergraduates to see themselves as scholars and help tell the stories of the valley."

For more information about the center and how to get involved, visit www.amwest.utah.edu.