UNO Students are also welcome to work with us to develop their skills in interviewing techniques, collecting oral histories, and research into Louisiana cultures and communities. This can be done in furtherance of a student's own interests, in connection with a class project, or as part of a community project. Laura Westbrook also teaches courses, available to graduates and undergraduates, that incorporate the concerns and methodologies of cultural anthropology into the neighborhood planning process.

Here are some of the groups and individuals who utilize the Regional Folklife Program, and some type of assistance the program offers:

Traditional Artists:

• Help document and exhibit, or perform, their work

Communities:

• Assist in developing public events such as festivals, local celebrations, concerts
• Document traditional skills, customs, lore
• Advocate for community interests in tourism and local development
• Help determine appropriate ways to utilize cultural resources for economic development
• Consult with teachers, librarians, planners

Cultural and Arts Organizations:

• Advise on creative uses of local resources
• Consult during grant-writing process
• Suggest strategies for planning programs
• Serve on grant-review and other assistance panels
• Assist groups to connect with others who can assist, or benefit from, new programs

Event and Exhibit Coordinators:

• Provide information about traditional artists, musicians, demonstrators, and others to enhance local representation in public events
• Assist in planning cultural events
• Consult with museums & cultural centers
• Advise during process-from identifying goals, themes and visions to implementing plans

Tourism Planners:

• Identify local cultural resources that can enrich tourism
• Lend authenticity to public presentations of the region
• Develop interpretive strategies by which visitors can learn about, and appreciate, a variety of aspects of our culture
• Develop publications and interpretive materials

Educators:

• Consult with teachers, librarians, others who wish to utilize local lore, demonstrators, or speakers
• Conduct workshops for teachers and students

UNO Students:

• Provide guidance in interviewing or conducting oral histories
• Suggest individuals, places, traditions, etc., that can enrich cultural research projects
• Connect students with people who agree to be interviewed about traditional culture