Library of Congress asks Flathead Valley veterans to share story of service
Daily Inter-Lake | UPDATED 3 weeks, 4 days AGO
The Library of Congress and Rena Flying Coyote Collective are traveling to Montana to conduct oral history interviews of U.S. veterans for inclusion in the Veterans History Project, a public research archive at the Library of Congress that collects, preserves, and makes accessible the firsthand accounts of American veterans.
Rena Flying Coyote Collective will also be filming interviews of Native American veterans for their in-production documentary "Loyal to the Soil," exploring the motivations behind why Native Americans choose to serve in the U.S. military.
Interviews will be conducted on April 20 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Flathead Valley Community College, and by appointment on April 21. Interviews generally take around 45 minutes and veterans will receive a free digital copy of their interview to share with friends and family.
All U.S. veterans from any branch are welcome to sign up for an interview, however, organizers particularly encourage Native veterans to sign up as they are severely underrepresented in VHP's collections and Rena Flying Coyote Collective needs their unique perspectives for its documentary.
Library of Congress staff will also be holding a free workshop at FVCC teaching attendees how to become a volunteer Veterans History Project "Field Correspondent" and conduct their own oral history interviews of veterans in their family or community.
The workshop will be held at 9:15 a.m. on April 20 in the FVCC library.
Email [email protected] or call (202) 707-1819 to sign up for an interview or for more information.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov