Franco-American Salem Oral History Collection

The Franco-American Salem Oral History project was started in 2011 by Salem State University Professors Dr. Elizabeth Blood and Dr. Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello. Drs. Blood and Duclos-Orsello interviewed 15 current and former Salem residents of French-Canadian descent. The interviews, which were videotaped and transcribed, explore issues of family history; processes of immigration; economic, business and social life; acculturation and linguistic and cultural resistance; political, family and community life; religion; foodways; and relationships with non-immigrant and non-French-speaking residents of Salem. Some of the interviews were conducted in French. These were both translated and transcribed. The collection also contains biographical information sheets and some ancillary materials donated by interviewees.