Preserving the Stories of America

William Ferris's 1969 movie of singing and preaching in the Mississippi State Penitentiary. Shot on B&W 8-mm film. Ferris added the recorded sound later, and it is not in…

This video tells how and where Arkansas ballad singer Almeda Riddle began her 10 year stint of singing old ballads all over the country. In an informal manner, folk musician Starr…

The freshwater pearl industry once flourished along Indiana's inland waterways. The Wabash, flowing south from Lafayette to join the Ohio at Mt. Vernon, bustled with the shallow…

Elizabeth James-Perry's artwork is intimately tied to her Aquinnah Wampanoag tribal heritage. Her wampum belts are made using indigenous materials -- locally harvested, handspun…

A look at Cajun and Zydeco music that was started in Louisiana. Many artists are featured in the film.