July 30, 1935-December 18, 2021
Tributes & Obituaries
In Memoriam: A Tribute to Big Jim. BorderLore. Jan. 2022.
Adios, Big Jim: Saying Goodbye to the Man Who Stirred Tucson’s Melting Pot. Tucson Weekly. Jan. 13, 2022.
National Endowment for the Arts Statement on the Death of National Heritage Fellow Jim Griffith. Dec. 20, 2021.
‘Big Jim’ Griffith, folklorist, Tucson icon, dies at 86. Arizona Daily Star. Dec. 20, 2021.
Buckley, Daniel. “More than memories: ‘Big Jim’ Griffith dedicated himself to keeping Southwest traditions alive.” Tucson Sentinel. Dec. 18, 2021.
Nabhan, Gary. “‘Big Jim’ Griffith built bridges, not walls, in the Borderlands.” Tucson Sentinel. Dec. 18, 2021.
Big Jim Griffith. Arizona Public Media. Feb. 19, 2015.
A profile of Dr. James S. Griffith, renowned folklorist, National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow, and the co-founder of the Tucson Meet Yourself folk life festival.
Photos of Jim Griffith. Arizona Daily Star.
Select Publications by James S. Griffith
Contributions to BorderLore, 2016-2020.
Images and Notes Concerning the Traditional Material Culture of the Easter Ceremony in Northern Sinaloa. Journal of the Southwest. Vol. 32, No. 1. Spring 1990. pp.36-67.
Meeting la Corua. Journal of the Southwest. Vol. 34, No. 4. Spring 1992. pp.41-151.
Voices from Inside a Black Snake: Religious Monuments of Sonora’s Highways. Journal of the Southwest. Vol. 47, No. 2. Spring 2005. pp.234-248.
Compilations & Videos
Southern Arizona Folk Arts/El Arte Folklórico del Sur de Arizona. Through Our Parents Eyes: History & Culture of Southern Arizona: University of Arizona.
Music of the Southwest. Through Our Parents Eyes: History & Culture of Southern Arizona: University of Arizona.
Big Jim videos: Tall tales from Our Storied Desert. Arizona Daily Star.
Jim Griffith brings us a tale of morality and misunderstanding along the border, Apr 22, 2016 – Arizona Daily Star
Jim Griffith discusses the tools and techniques used to harvest Organ Pipe Cactus, May 28, 2015 – Arizona Daily Star
Jim Griffith shows us how and when to harvest saguaro fruit, May 26, 2015 – Arizona Daily Star
Stolen payroll leads to buried treasure in this tale from the border, Jan 8, 2015 – Arizona Daily Star
Miscellaneous
Masters of Traditional Arts – Jim Griffith Bio.
Banjo Newsletter – Interview With Big Jim Griffith.
40 Years of Tucson Meet Yourself: An Evening with Big Jim Griffith, Special Collections, 9/2013.