Digitization grant awarded to preserve Kiowa recordings

April 29, 2025

Pasadena-based ethnomusicologist T. Christopher Aplin has received a $5,000 GRAMMY Museum grant to digitize Kiowa-language songs recorded by the American Indian Soundchiefs label. The project aims to preserve aging analog media, including instantaneous discs, reel-to-reels and cassettes as part of a cultural revitalization effort, according to a museum press release, and is supported by the Linn D. Pauahty Foundation, the Kiowa tribe and Mary Helen Deer, granddaughter of label founder Rev. Linn D. Pauahty.

American Indian Soundchiefs, founded in the 1940s, is considered the earliest and longest-running Native-led record label, according to reporting by Pasadena Now. It focused on in-depth documentation of tribal music and dance forms. Aplin previously received a $3,000 grant from the program in 2022 for related preservation work.

List of grantees here.

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