FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 20, 2005

Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Eileen Maxwell, emaxwell@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov

$830,000 Awarded in First Year of Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Grant Program

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the primary source of federal funds for the nation's museums and libraries, awarded $830,435 today to 45 Native American tribal communities and organizations that primarily serve Native Hawaiians. For a list of today's recipients, please see the list of awarded institutions.

"We have been very impressed with the quality of the applications to this new program,” said Mary L. Chute, Acting Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. “Museums connect people to the full spectrum of human experience: culture, science, history and art, providing a tangible link with their heritage. This new program enables Native American tribes and organizations that serve Native Hawaiians to help their communities by strengthening these essential museum services.”

The Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Grant Program can fund a variety of activities and services, including those that support the educational mission of a museum; build the skills and knowledge of individuals who provide museum services; or improve museum services, such as disaster preparedness, strategic planning, improvement of technology and other resources, collections care and management, and hiring of staff.

Projects funded include, among others, the PA’I Foundation’s week-long celebration of Native Hawaiian art; collections care and object-handling training of staff and volunteers at the Meskwaki Cultural Center and Museum in Iowa; and the enhancement of research capabilities of the Poeh Museum of the Pueblo of Pojoaque in New Mexico.