John Barre Toelken (/ˈbæri ˈtoʊlkən/; June 15, 1935 – November 9, 2018) was an award-winning American folklorist, noted for his study of Native American material and oral traditions.
He began to attend the Utah State University in 1953,[2][3][4] where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in English.
[1] Toelken was known for his research into Navajo folklore, namely with the Yellowman family.
[2] Decades later, Toelken destroyed most of the physical records originating from his work with the Yellowman family, choosing to leave a set of cassette tapes with members of the family, not within an archive.
[8][9] Toelken also served on the boards of a number of organisations, including the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts Folklife Program, the Western Folklife Center, Utah Arts Council, and the International Ballad Commission.