Dot and me at the Mohican History Conference.
When Dorothy Winona Davids, affectionately known as “Dot,” passed away at the age of 91, she left behind a huge hole in the lives of everyone who knew her. An amazing person, a consummate teacher, a caring friend, Dot was a fighter for justice, and was often driving to one protest or another. In her travels, as well as inside her home “retreat center,” Dot recorded and collected all sorts of our Mohican history. On her cassette and reel-to-reel recorders, she captured for posterity a number of special tribal council meetings, American Indian radio programs, the voices of Mohican elders, and community renditions of vocal and instrumental music. And, I never imagined I’d be the one going through her collection, but I am!
I’m proud to announce that the Doodlebug Music Studio has won a bid to digitize her entire collection. Her collection contains almost 50 recordings, and once digitized will be available to all, beginning in October 2015, at our Arvid E. Miller Library Museum! Although I’m only 7 recordings into preparing the full collection, I’ve already experienced some interesting parts of our tribal history.
We still miss Dot, those of us who knew her. But perhaps some of who she was, some of her legacy, will be available to everyone in the form of these recordings. I still remember her typical email sign-off to me (below), and am proud to be working now, in my own small way, to digitally unwrap the lifelong gift of her audio collection for all to experience.
I’m proud to announce that the Doodlebug Music Studio has won a bid to digitize her entire collection. Her collection contains almost 50 recordings, and once digitized will be available to all, beginning in October 2015, at our Arvid E. Miller Library Museum! Although I’m only 7 recordings into preparing the full collection, I’ve already experienced some interesting parts of our tribal history.
We still miss Dot, those of us who knew her. But perhaps some of who she was, some of her legacy, will be available to everyone in the form of these recordings. I still remember her typical email sign-off to me (below), and am proud to be working now, in my own small way, to digitally unwrap the lifelong gift of her audio collection for all to experience.
| “For now, Love Cousin Dot, or maybe Cussin Dot” (Dorothy Davids). |
RSS Feed
