National Endowment
for the Humanities Grant
1997 – Ongoing
About The Program
American Indian communities are seeing barriers and a dramatic decline in the use and practice of their languages, traditional arts, and broader cultural knowledge. TCUs help to shift this trend by offering culture and language maintenance, revitalization, restoration, and preservation activities to the students and communities they serve. The American Indian College Fund was awarded a Challenge Grant in 1993 by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) that led to the establishment of the NEH Cultural Preservation Program, which supports TCUs to carry out this important work within their communities.
The program is available to all 35 TCUs annually, and provides funding to administer Native culture and language preservation, perpetuation, and revitalization programming within their communities. Some projects include language camps, museum archival documentation, and the establishment of cultural centers on campus.
Program Gallery
Grantees
Aaniiih Nakoda College (Ft. Belknap)
Bay Mills Community College
Blackfeet Community College
Cankdeska Cikana Community College
Chief Dull Knife College
College of Menominee Nation
College of the Muscogee Nation
Diné College
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Fort Peck Community College
Haskell Indian Nations University
Ilisagvik College
Institute of American Indian Arts
Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University
Leech Lake Tribal College
Little Big Horn College
Little Priest Tribal College
Navajo Technical University
Nebraska Indian Community College
Northwest Indian College
Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College
Oglala Lakota College
Red Lake Nation College
Salish Kootenai College
Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College
Sinte Gleska University
Sisseton Wahpeton College
Sitting Bull College
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
Stone Child College
Tohono O'odham Community College
Turtle Mountain Community College
United Tribes Technical College
White Earth Tribal and Community College
Related Blogs
From The Chippewa Cree Perspective
This blog from Stone Child College on Rocky Boy’s Reservation in Montana shares insights into navigating higher education and preserving Chippewa Cree culture in the modern world. It highlights the college’s dedication to fostering pride in tribal heritage, featuring an interview with art instructor John Murie, who carries forward traditional beadwork techniques and philosophies passed down through generations, emphasizing the importance of Native storytelling and cultural preservation through education and art.
Waabaabigan, Working with Our Namesake
Janet and Eliza Klarer, a mother-daughter duo from the White Earth Ojibwe community, are preserving traditional Woodland-style pottery inspired by their ancestor Judy Toppings, who revitalized White Earth clay lifeways. Through workshops and their own artistry, they share the significance of working with White Earth clay, nurturing creativity and connection in their community.
A New Direction
The complexity of Native people and their identities drew Anna to sculpture, video performance, and installation. She uses her familial and formal training to disrupt stereotypes of Natives by telling multi-dimensional stories. The story drives her choice of technique and materials, defying boundaries around Native art.
Bringing Baleen Basketry Into the Future with Ira Ilupak Frankson
Ira Ilupak Frankson, an Iñupiaq artist from Tikiġaq, Alaska, is preserving the traditional art of baleen basketry, an Iñupiat craft made from bowhead whale baleen and walrus ivory. Through his work and teaching, Frankson is helping to revitalize this unique cultural art form for future generations.
