Robert Moody Laughlin was an American ethnologist specializing in the study of Mayan language, history, customs, and folklore. He spent the majority of his career working for the Smithsonian Institution, first with the Bureau of American Ethnology, then with the Department of Anthropology. He was a curator emeritus with the department from his retirement in 2006 until his death in 2020. The Robert Moody Laughlin papers (1899-2016, bulk 1954-2016) document his research and professional activities and primarily deal with language and folktales he recorded and studied, as well as the culture and history of the Tzotzil and other Mayan groups in the Chiapas region. His involvement in language education and training, advocacy for the Tzotzil and language and cultural revitalization, and administrative matters at the Smithsonian are also represented. The collection consists of materials created for books and other publications, field notes, research materials, correspondence, administrative files, sound recordings, video recordings, photographs, and electronic records.

The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.

The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.

These records document film, television, and radio production activities at Smithsonian Productions, with earlier material dating from when the office was known as Smithsonian Press/Smithsonian Productions and the Office of Telecommunications (OTC), respectively. The records include correspondence and memoranda of Nazaret Cherkezian, Dire...

This accession consists of materials documenting aspects of the career of Wilcomb E. Washburn, historian and teacher of American political and cultural history. He held positions at the National Museum of American History, Division of Political History and later at the Smithsonian Institution, Office of American Studies. Much of the mater...

This accession consists primarily of photocopies of S. Dillon Ripley's speeches, and includes three audiotapes; subject personal/confidential files including correspondence, reports and memoranda; draft copies of the Secretary's Statement; journal articles for various publications by Ripley; and Administrative Assistant to the Secretary Mary L...

These records document the operations of OAS. They also contain records from an organizational predecessor, the Department of American Studies, Museum of History and Technology, which had been chaired by Washburn. OAS records deal with the work of the Office and its involvement with other Smithsonian offices and bureaus; its work with num...

The collection dates from circa 1981 to 2018 and consists of photographic prints, negatives, posters, art prints, DVDs and printed and manuscript materials. Photographs depict architecture, agricultural work, beadwork, weaving, village scenes, artists, artists at work, artworks, markets, celebrations, scenic views, animals, churches and mosques. Most depict Kunama or Saho peoples, particularly women and children. LaDuke also regularly photographed war zones during the Border War, especially those in Nakfa and Gelebe, portraying Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. Locations include villages in Ethiopia and Eritrea, particularly Senafe, Nakfa and Massawa, as well as Border War zones various battlefields and camps for internally displaced persons.

Collection primarily documents American folk art collected by Frederick Fried (1908-1994) and his wife Mary McKensie Hill Fried (1914-1988). It includes photographic materials, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, research files, lecture notes, unpublished manuscripts, brochures, drawings, printed advertisements, blueprints, books, patents, cor...

These records consist of documents deemed to be of historical value by the Office of Facilities Planning and Engineering Services along with photographs, reports correspondence, contracts and blueprints documenting Smithsonian buildings and construction projects. The buildings documented include the Smithsonian Institution Building, the Arts a...