She worked among Native Americans of coastal British Columbia during the mid-20th century, collecting, recording, and transcribing their music and documenting its use in their cultures.

[2][3] Born as Ida Ruhdörfer, Halpern was raised mostly by her mother, Sabine, as her parents had separated in her early years.

They were deciding on where to settle permanently, with South America especially in mind, when Nazis entered Vienna as a result of the Anschluss.

[4] As soon as Halpern defended her dissertation and received her Ph.D. in musicology, the couple escaped to Shanghai, not only because it was one of the few places in the world that did not require a visa, but also because Georg's sister taught at a college there.

[4] Shanghai was having its own difficulties due to the Sino-Japanese War, and so after a short stint working at the university, the Halperns left for Canada.

[2] Ida Halpern is most notable for her work with the First Nations people of British Columbia, recording their music, transcribing it, and documenting the way it was used.

At first she did not pay particular attention to Native folk songs, and even her immigration records hinted she would be researching the music of Canadian farmers.

Halpern initiated groundbreaking research for her time, "she began and conducted much of her fieldwork during a period when it was actually illegal for First Nations cultures to be celebrated, much less preserved.

"[4] After Halpern had recorded over 80 of Assu's folk songs, she was helped by Mungo Martin, also a Kwakwaka'wakw man, and an artist and songwriter.

While her works have sometimes been criticized for their "cultural material," especially in instances of her record's liner notes having misspellings, incomplete information, or the improper citing of a song-owner which "do[es] them a great disservice," it is widely agreed that her musical descriptions were largely flawless.

"[5] These absences may be attributed to her research style which, "was derived from but only partially resembles, an Austro-German school of comparative musicology which was incompatible with popular North American ethnomusicology, anthropology, and folklore,"[5] according to Chen, the clash of four paradigms through differing theoretical backgrounds left Halpern "unduly ostracized.

"[5] In addition, Halpern's name is strangely missing from the biography of Chief Martin, and the writings of George Clutesi, an artist she worked with.

[6] The Ida Halpern Fellowship and Award, "to help support research on Native American Music of the United States and Canada" was established in her honour.

[2] In September 2017, the Royal BC Museum and Archives officially submitted the Ida Halpern collection[7] for consideration for inscription on UNESCO’s International Memory of the World register.