Words and Place contains audiovisual recordings and associated documentation related to the production of eight videorecorded programs of Native American literature produced from 1976-1979 at the University of Arizona in cooperation with KUAT-TV and funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

Each program in Words and Place presents one American Indian singer, storyteller or author performing from their repertoire in a natural setting in the community. The speakers also discuss the relation of their oral tradition to their native communities.

Five programs are recorded in native Indian languages with English captions so viewers have an opportunity to experience the beauty and complexity of these languages. These are: Origins of the Crown Dance (Apache), Seyewailo (Yaqui/Yoeme), Natwaniwa (Hopi), By This Song I Walk (Navajo), and Iisaw (Hopi). The tribal communities represented in the eight recordings are: Standing Rock Sioux, Apache, Navajo (Diné), Pasqua Yaqui, Laguna and Santo Domingo Pueblos, and Hopi.