Watch now: 'Big Jim' Griffith shares tales of Tucson and beyond
In 2015, the late James S. "Big Jim" Griffith shared stories, artifacts, and songs of the Southwest in the Star's "Our Storied Desert Land" video series.
Here is a look back at some highlights featuring the famed Tucson folklorist:
Watch now: Big Jim and the organ pipe cactus
UpdatedJim Griffith discusses the tools and techniques used to harvest the Organ Pipe Cactus.
Watch now: Big Jim's hand carved mesquite tortilla press
UpdatedTucson folklorist "Big Jim" Griffith shares his hand-carved tortilla press as part of the Star's "Our Storied Desert Land" series from 2015.
Watch now: Big Jim answers 'How hot is it?'
Updated"Big Jim" Griffith shares some humorous stories about how hot Tucson summers can get.
Watch now: Big Jim: Harvesting saguaro fruit
UpdatedTucson folklorist "Big Jim" Griffith shares his method of harvesting the fruit of saguaro cactuses.
Watch now: Big Jim talks 'helium monsters'
UpdatedTucson folklorist Jim Griffith shares how a Gila monster can become a "helium" monster.
Watch now: Big Jim and a tale of buried treasure
UpdatedSeveral years ago, Tucson folklorist James "Big Jim" Griffith sat down with the Arizona Daily Star for the "Our Storied Desert Land" video series. In this episode, Big Jim shares a tale of buried treasure in southern Arizona.
Watch now: Storyteller extraordinaire Big Jim tells a tale about crossing the border
UpdatedTucson folklorist "Big Jim" Griffith tells a joke about the border and a moral lesson that can be found in it.
Watch now: Big Jim on chiltepines and how to crush them
Updated"Big Jim" Griffith shows us spicy chiltepin peppers and how to prepare them using a mortar and pestle.
Watch now: Big Jim: Yaqui Easter rosaries
UpdatedIn this 2015 episode of the "Our Storied Desert Land" series, the late Tucson folklorist Jim Griffith describes the role rosaries play in Yaqui Easter ceremonies.
Watch now: Big Jim sings 'Tying Knots in the Devil's Tail'
Updated"Big Jim" Griffith sings a classic song by cowboy Gail Gardner from the book of poems "The Orejana Bull."
As featured on
Roman Barten-Sherman spent more than a year working with the late Big Jim Griffith during the pandemic, digitizing the Tucson folklorist's collection of field recordings.
