Native Arts and Culture Preservation
Preserving Native Arts, Languages, And Cultures
American Indian communities face the risk of losing traditional arts, tribal languages, and cultural knowledge.
Strong Native communities are built on tribal languages, cultural knowledge, and traditional arts. With many communities facing the risk of loss of language, culture, and traditional arts, we provide grants and support for communities to restore, sustain, and pass on traditional knowledge.
Native Arts Programs
Learn more about our grant programs to preserve Native arts.
Native Arts Enrichment and Expansion
Active Program Dates: 2020-2023
The Native Arts Enrichment and Expansion program purposes to enrich, enhance, and expand traditional and contemporary Native arts knowledge and skills at tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) and the communities that they serve.
Active Program Dates: 2013-2020
The American Indian College Fund has created a re-granting opportunity for Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to enhance the capacity of traditional Native art forms and knowledge at participating TCUs in the upper-Midwest.
Cultural Preservation Programs
Learn more about our grant programs to support Cultural Preservation.
National Endowment for the Humanities Grant
Active Program Dates: 1997-Ongoing
The College Fund was awarded the Challenge Grant in 1993 by the National Endowment for the Humanities which led to the establishment of the NEH Cultural Preservation Endowment Program. The NEH Cultural Preservation Endowment supports cultural preservation and revitalization efforts for all 35 TCUs.
Active Program Dates: 2014-2017
The Anheuser Busch Foundation Cultural Foundation Preservation Grant program was introduced in early 2014 and provides one-time annual awards to a selected tribal college or university (TCU) for the purpose of supporting cultural preservation.
Native Arts and Culture Blogs
Read important Program News from the team at College Fund.
A Dialogue with Diné Director Blackhorse Lowe
Diné film and TV director Blackhorse Lowe met with the College Fund to speak about what it means to be an Indigenous director. Lowe grew up on the Navajo Nation hearing traditional and family stories and watching movies–lots of movies, which influenced his path on becoming a film and TV director.
SIPI Drawing Workshop Taps into Native Philosophies of Awareness in Art, Native Identity, Sacredness, and Value
The warm smell of burning firewood wafted around us as we stepped out of the car. The cool still morning and chirping birds greeted us as we entered the building of the Ancestral Rich Treasures of Zuni (ARTZ) which houses silver and turquoise jewelry and is adorned with colorful paintings all created by Zuni artists.
A Time for Change and Innovation – Native Arts and Distance Learning
Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) transitioned from holding in-person classes and community events to closing their campuses, instead offering academic courses online or through distance learning. Community programming and events were canceled or postponed, greatly impacting TCUs, students, and the communities they serve.
To help TCUs during the transition, seven TCUs were awarded Distance Learning Grants. Each had a different approach on how they would continue to provide Native Arts programming while keeping their students and community members safe. Each explored how they were going to bring people together while keeping them safely apart.
Other Programs
Select another program to learn more.
