Three Underserved Communities, undated

Three Underserved Communities project collection comprises color slides, B&W photographs, student magazines and videos of maritime and Mexican folklife. This project targeted three communities that were not being served by the Oregon Folk Arts Program: Lincoln County's maritime, Hermiston's Mexican American, and Portland's African American communities. From 1992 to 1994, Nancy Nusz trained and directed community researchers in each site to document their community traditions. The project met unexpected road blocks in the African American community and documentation did not occur. Project director Nancy Nusz used the documentation materials to create two community-based exhibits "Maritime Folklife of Lincoln County" and "Celebrating Traditions, Strengthening Community: Mexican American Folklife of Hermiston". Later she collaborated with the two local school districts to design and develop instructional units on the topics.

These served as a model for future materials and were the first of the Oregon Folklife Series. They included table-top exhibits with art objects, biographic information on the artists, student activity sheets, teacher's guides, supplemental materials and a student magazine of the topic. The Learning Units were designed for grades 3-6: Mexican American Traditional Arts & Culture; and Maritime Folklife in Lincoln County. Two videos were also produced by students from two school districts as part of the education project. This segment was a partnership between the Oregon Folklife Program, the Northwest Film Center, the two regional arts councils, and the Lincoln County and Hermiston school districts. The project was partially funded through the National Endowment for the Arts, the Oregon Arts Commission with matching funds from the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts, the Eastern Oregon Regional Arts Council and the two school districts. The Oregon Folk Arts Student Videos -VHS: "I Feel Mexican Even Though I Was Born Here": Hermiston's Mexican American Traditional Arts and Culture (10:50 mins); and Lincoln County's Maritime Folklife (17:07 mins).