The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
is accepting grant applications from Native American tribes, Alaska
Native villages, regional and village corporations, and non-profit
organizations that serve primarily Native Hawaiians, to support museum activities. These activities will enhance learning in families and communities, sustain cultural heritage, build 21st-century skills, or encourage civic engagement. The application deadline this year is April 1, 2006.
Downloadable guidelines and fill-in forms are available on
the IMLS Web site at:
http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/nativeServices.shtm
The range of grant funding has increased over last year to $5,000 -
$50,000 and is available under the following three categories:
* Programming - services and activities that support the
educational mission of museums and museum-related organizations
including exhibits, research and interpretation, and educational
resources.
* Professional Development - education or training that builds
skills, knowledge, or other professional capacity for individuals who
provide or manage museum services activities. Individuals can be paid or
volunteer and involved with museum services either currently or in the
future.
* Enhancement of Museum Services - support for activities that
enable and improve museum services including, but not limited to,
technology, access, and strategic planning.
In FY 2005 IMLS funded 45 grant projects. Examples of the projects
funded include:
$20,000 for the Barona Band of Mission Indians Cultural Center and
Museum in Lakeside, California to select objects and photographs from
its collection and conduct oral history interviews with tribal elders to
create an exhibit commemorating the 75th anniversary of the
reservation's founding. A traveling version of this exhibit will also be
developed and installed at institutions throughout the San Diego area
such as libraries, civic centers, and other museums.
$19,748 to the Comanche Indian Tribe in Lawton, Oklahoma to host a
series of training workshops promoting the development of Native
American museum workers, primarily from the southwest Oklahoma region.
Topics for sessions include museum management and operations,
collections and archives development, museum education and
interpretation, exhibition development, museum funding operations, and
board development.
$19,602 to the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Harbor
Springs, Michigan, to implement Past Perfect, a collections management
software program that will increase the efficiency of artifact
accessioning and tracking. The grant will help create and maintain a
virtual museum using digital images of objects from the department. This
virtual museum, available on the tribe's Web site, will make the
collections more accessible to community members as well as the public.
For descriptions of all grants projects funded last year, please access:
http://www.imls.gov/results.asp?keyword=&inst=&city=&state=&year=10&prog
ram=1065&description=on&sort=year
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent federal
agency, grows and sustains a "Nation of Learners" because life-long
learning is critical to both societal and individual success. Through
its grant making, convening, research and publications, the Institute
empowers museums and libraries nationwide to provide leadership and
services to enhance learning in families and communities, sustain
cultural heritage, build 21st century skills, and provide opportunities
for civic participation. To learn more about the Institute, please
visit: http://www.imls.gov.
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