News Release

National Park Service Providing Historic Preservation Support to American Indian Tribes

The Tribal Heritage Grants assist with the preservation and sharing of American Indian traditions.

NPS Photo

News Release Date: August 31, 2016

Contact: Jeremy Barnum, 202-208-6843

WASHINGTON – The National Park Service today announced the awarding of $531,187 in grants from the Historic Preservation Fund to 16 American Indian tribes to support the protection of America's native cultures.

"These grants from the Historic Preservation Fund represent one of the many ways the National Park Service works closely with tribes to help protect the cultures and history of America's original inhabitants," said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis.

Tribal communities will use these grant funds to preserve cultural practices;survey and protect historic and archeological sites;and fund historic preservation education and training.For example, tribal elders of the Muscogee Creek Nation in Oklahoma will use grant funds to mentor at-risk youth, teaching them the customary use of traditional items and the meaning of ceremonial grounds and traditional dances.The Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa community in Michigan will collect oral histories of key historic events and developments integral to the community that will be featured in an exhibit for use in community outreach and education.In Arizona, the Yavapai-Apache Nation will document and map the 180 mile route by which their ancestors were removed from their homelands and forced to march over rugged terrain.

Administered by the National Park Service, Tribal Heritage Grants are a part of annual appropriations from the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF).Since its inception in 1977, the HPF has provided more than $1.2 billion in historic preservation grants to states, tribes, local governments, and non-profit organizations.The funding is provided by Outer Continental Shelf oil lease revenues, not tax dollars, with intent to mitigate the loss of a non-renewable resource to benefit the preservation of other irreplaceable resources.

A full list of this year's awards is below.

HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND GRANTS TO INDIAN TRIBES

Yavapai-Apache Nation	Arizona	14,900
Karuk Tribe	California	39,911
Tejon Indian Tribe	California	36,369
Mashantucket Pequot	Connecticut	5,848
Nez Perce Tribe	Idaho	39,681
Seminole Tribe of Florida	Florida	48,070
Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa	Michigan	40,000
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians	Michigan	15,091
The Pueblo of Jemez	New Mexico	41,437
Pueblo of Pojoaque	New Mexico	39,920
Pueblo of Zuni	New Mexico	39,966
Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe	Nevada	39,050
Kaw Nation	Oklahoma	36,000
Muscogee Creek Nation	Oklahoma	29,690
Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians	Oregon	25,254
Coquille Indian Tribe	Oregon	40,000
TOTAL		$531,187

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 413 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.