The Gay Rodeo Oral History Project Archives comprises 60 oral history interviews with current and former International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) members. Each interview includes born-digital audio recordings and transcripts. Some interviews also include an image of the interviewee, which were either taken by the interviewer or provided by the interviewee. Most interviews were recorded on-site at IGRA rodeos and conferences, but some were recorded using the video web-conferencing platform, Zoom. Recordings were transcribed using transcription software, edited in Microsoft Word, and approved by the interviewee. Some transcripts were also coded by theme in Microsoft Excel for inclusion in the Voices of Gay Rodeo web exhibition (see Project History Note).

The Gay Rodeo Oral History Project was created in 2016 by Rebecca Scofield, associate professor of history at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Drawing on her specialization in gender and sexuality in the United States West and her research at the Autry Museum of the American West, Scofield became interested in the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) as an LGBTQ+ community engaged with and within rural spaces, practices, and histories. With funding from a University of Idaho Seed Grant and a Whiting Foundation Public Humanities Project grant, Scofield and a team of student researchers – Renae Campbell, Court Fund, Dusty Fleener, Revulai Detiv, and Saraya Flaig – attended IGRA rodeos and conferences across the United States, conducting over 60 oral history interviews.

75.5 Megabytes (187 digital files, including digital audio/video files that total approximately 72.3 hours in duration)

Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Library and Archives at the Autry. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form.