Ford Foundation awards Evergreen $250,000 to expand Native American programs

NEW YORK - Native American programs at The Evergreen State College will receive a significant boost with a quarter-million dollar grant from the Ford Foundation.

The $250,000 award highlights Evergreen’s extensive Native American educational and cultural programs - a commitment widely acclaimed as one of the strongest in the nation.

The funding allows the college’s Longhouse Education and Cultural Center a new opportunity to broaden educational programs and become a national resource for Native artists by expanding funding for the center’s notable Artist-In-Residence program. The Longhouse has also joined the IllumiNation initiative, a nationwide Native art program, partnering with organizations including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, thanks to the grant funding.

“The staff and supporters of the Longhouse are really looking forward to this new opportunity to expand our existing programs and become a national resource for Native artists,” said Tina Kuckkahn, Director of the Longhouse Center. The center is housed on campus in the first Native American Longhouse constructed at a public college or university in the nation. Evergreen’s Longhouse has served as a model for several universities.

The grant funding also boosts programs for Evergreen students studying Native Arts Administration as a part of the college’s Native American undergraduate studies. In addition to the undergraduate studies, the college has a Master of Public Administration in Tribal Governance program, which is unique in the nation.

The Ford Foundation was created by Henry and Edsel Ford in 1936 and is focused on strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation and advancing human achievement.

On the web:
Evergreen’s Longhouse Center
Artist Trust program