The aleut community of ST. Paul island will enhance a collection of oral histories available at tanamawaa.COM to make them more accessible

The Aleut Community of Saint Paul Island received a $149,865 Project Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the Native American and Native Hawaiian Library Services program (CFDA 45.311), awarded October 1, 2025, with a completion date of September 30, 2027. The grant funds enhancement of an oral history collection housed at tanamawaa.com to improve accessibility for community members and descendants of storytellers. The project will transcribe approximately 40-50 hours of audio interviews, including 20 contemporary interviews with island elders and recovered 1994 audio recordings featuring Father Michael Lestenkof, generating written documentation for audiences who prefer or require text-based materials.

In addition to transcription services, the project will index and supplement the audio recordings with supplementary materials including detailed descriptions, historical context, and archival photographs to enhance user understanding and engagement with the cultural content. These enhancements will address existing accessibility limitations in the current audio format and provide descendants and interested community members with comprehensive contextual information necessary to fully comprehend the significance and details of the recorded oral histories.

The existing audio is not user-friendly to all audiences, and descendants of the storytellers and other interested community members require transcriptions and supplementary materials to fully grasp the context of the recordings. Focusing on 20 interviews with elders on ST. Paul island, as well as recovered 1994 audio interviews with father michael lestenkof, the project will generate transcription for 40-50 hours of interviews for those who prefer or require written documentation. IT will also index and supplement the audio recordings with additional descriptions, historical context, and photographs.