Indigenous heritage projects at UNH and UMaine among 80 national grant winners

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NEH2022 UniversityofMaine GradStudent FrazerPoint crElliotHagger
A University of Maine graduate student at the Frazer Point archaeology site. The project, as well as one by the University of New Hampshire Center for the Humanities, was awarded a Telling the Full History Preservation Fund grant. Photo/Elliot Hagger

DURHAM, NHA UNH Center for the Humanities project that highlights New Hampshire’s indigenous heritage is one of 80 across the country awarded a Telling the Full History Preservation Fund grant.

The $2.5 million in grants, awarded to organizations in 39 states, will fund programs for underrepresented populations that are taking innovative approaches to highlight stories that are often ignored or misrepresented in America’s history.

The UNH Center for the Humanities is the only New Hampshire organization to be awarded a grant. The money will fund the project, “Homelands,” an augmented reality app that interprets the state’s indigenous heritage.

Specifics of the UNH grant were not immediately available Thursday, though a spokesperson said it was “a deeply collaborative effort.”

The state’s indigenous community in recent years has worked to give their heritage in New Hampshire a voice, including highlighting its influence on the state as well as historical inaccuracies and misrepresentations.

A University of Maine project highlighting that state’s indigenous heritage was one of two Maine projects awarded a grant. The project “A Million Sunrises at Schoodic: Training and Research on the Muted Histories at Frazer Point,” is connected to archaeologic studies that look deeper into the Wabanaki history in the Acadia National Park area.

While colonists drew boundaries, New Hampshire and Maine’s indigenous people were part of a bigger community that shared elements of the Abenaki language, and more.

The New Hampshire and Maine grants were among several awarded to efforts that highlight indigenous heritage across the country. The other Maine grant was for a study on Portland’s underrepresented history by Portland Landmarks.

Other recipients of the 80 grants represented women, immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, Black Americans and Latinx Americans. 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded the $25,000 and $50,000 grants with a one-time grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, funded through the 2021 American Rescue Act.

The 396 applications received in the program, which opened last November, “represent a true cross-section of America,” said Shelly Lowe, National Endowment for the Humanities chair, at a news conference Thursday morning announcing the grant recipients.

“These awards will reach deeply into communities large and small, lift up often overlooked voices, and tell important, untold stories of our country’s rich and diverse history,” Lowe said.

Historic sites and land are what make states truly great, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, said at the news conference. “Not only for enhancing culture and encouraging learning, but for driving economic development and boosting tourism…But it takes work, and money, to ensure these parts of our states remain intact.”

She said that the groups doing the work, and organizations like the National Trust for Historic Preservation that support them, “The historic places that made America what it is today would be lost to time, leaving our full American story untold.”

Pingree was a speaker at the conference as chair of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which was instrumental in creating the program. 

Rep. David Price, D-NC 4th District, said that the grants come “at a critical juncture in national conversations, at a time when some are urging the whitewashing of history, some are urging that history should be told only in ways that make us feel good and proud. We know that that isn’t true history. True history represents an encounter with our past with its negative as well as positive aspects, and hopefully that lays the groundwork for a better future. 

“I like to think of this as a kind of honest patriotism,” Price said. “You know we love our country, but we also love it enough to mend its flaws and an honest history is absolutely essential to that.”

The one-time funding represents the largest number of grants given through a single program at the National Trust, Katherine Malone-France, chief preservation officer for the trust, said. “These 80 projects are driven by many dedicated volunteers, staff, and experts, all seeking to expand how we understand our shared history. We are grateful for the work that they do in communities across the country to reveal, remember, celebrate and illuminate these stories through these extraordinary places.”

Grantees not only are groups reflecting compelling places and telling inspiring stories, but also model innovative approaches and inclusive participation. “They are particularly relevant to our challenging times and the need to reckon with history and legacies,” the award announcement said.

To be awarded a grant, projects had to include the following elements:

  • To reflect upon our nation’s quest for a more just, inclusive, and sustainable society;
  • Tell unvarnished stories with themes related to justice and equity;
  • Strengthen Americans’ knowledge of the principles of our constitutional governance and democracy.

Recipients have until March 31, 2023, to complete the part of their project funded by the grant.


 

About this Author

Maureen Milliken

Maureen Milliken is a contract reporter and content producer for consumer financial agencies. She has worked for northern New England publications, including the New Hampshire Union Leader, for 25 years, and most recently at Mainebiz in Portland, Maine. She can be found on LinkedIn and Twitter.