The Gypsy in Northwest America

Curatorial Note

Published in 1977 as part of Washington State's Ethnic History Series, this concise regional study by anthropologist Gabrielle Tyrner-Stastny, later known as Gabrielle Tyrnauer, documents Roma communities in the northwestern United States, with particular attention to Washington State. The volume is notable for its contemporary account of Roma educational initiatives and community experiences in Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane, material subsequently cited in studies of Romani schooling in the United States. Produced during a period of expanding public interest in ethnic minority histories and federally supported educational programs, the book now serves both as an early contribution to the documentation of Roma life in the United States and as a historical source for examining Roma–non-Roma relations and institutional approaches to Romani communities during the 1970s. Its terminology and interpretive framework should be understood within the context of the period in which it was produced.