Saving Your Tribal and Village Heritage: FamilySearch Oral Genealogy Initiative

Global Oral Genealogies (OGEN) is a FamilySearch initiative to collect, preserve, and safeguard tribal, village, and family histories that exist primarily through oral tradition, especially in communities with few or no written records. We have preserved 2.7M Oral Genealogy interviews and family stories from 24 countries for indigenous populations in North America, MENA, Africa, and APAC. We preserve ~15,000 interviews each week. Many indigenous and undocumented populations pass family history and heritage verbally from generation to generation. As social structures change and tribal and village leaders pass away, these genealogies are at risk of being lost permanently. OGEN focuses on preserving these records‑at‑risk before they disappear. In this session we will discuss the details of this initiative, what we capture in an Oral Genealogy, what impact it will have on your country and community, and how we save these records-at-risk!