The Northern California Writing Project announces a grant in partnership with Quartz Valley Indian Reservation the awarding of a grant through the National Writing Project’s Building a More Perfect Union, a grant program for humanities organizations across the United States to assist in recovering from interruptions to operations due to the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grantmaking for Organizations at the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Building a More Perfect Union program funds organizations to develop programming in anticipation of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

 Working with the Quartz Valley Indian Reservation in designing and developing an online presence that captures and reflects the essence of their tribal community has been a real honor for OBSIDIAN to be a part of. We are truly humbled by the depth of cultural knowledge that they share and to witness how it fosters an environment of mutual respect among community members has been a real treat to experience. All to say we have enjoyed the mutual working relationship we have garnered as we’ve come to establish a productive collaborative process with the QVIR youth and leadership. We’re very excited and hopeful for what’s to come!

Rocky Tano, President/CEO, OBSIDIAN, Inc.

This year our project Rebuilding the Humanities at the Quartz Valley Indian Reservation is working to increase the visibility and accessibility of the reservation’s history, culture, and language. To do so, we seek to engage tribal members, community members, and high school and community college students in creating a comprehensive history of the reservation, an online resource for teaching, a renewal of the reservation’s Culture Camp, and an enhanced website for the public.

The awarded projects, selected through a competitive, peer-reviewed application process, are located at local, regional, or cross-regional organizations such as nonprofits, museums, libraries and archives, historic sites, and public-facing humanities centers at colleges and universities across the country. This funding will help such entities restore post-pandemic programming and engage or deepen collaborations with stakeholders and communities that will expand their reach.

“Each project contributes to a shared national conversation in important ways,” said Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, Executive Director of the National Writing Project. “Building a More Perfect Union recognizes the unique role that local, regional, and cross-regional humanities organizations play in understanding and making visible fuller stories of our national experience.”

Awardees plan to “build a more perfect union” through expanding access and raising the visibility of lesser-known stories and histories in regions and communities, engaging communities through participatory public humanities events and opportunities, and developing institutes and curricula with teachers and students to support K12 classrooms.

“The National Endowment for the Humanities is grateful to the National Writing Project for administering American Rescue Plan funding to help local and regional humanities organizations recover from the pandemic,” said NEH Chair Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo). “These ARP awards will allow archives, libraries, museums, historic sites, and other institutions around the country to restore and expand public programs that preserve and share the stories of the communities they serve.”

To learn more about Rebuilding The Humanities at the Quartz Valley Indian Reservation’s Building a More Perfect Union grant, please visit the National Writing Project website.