WASHINGTON - The National Park Service today announced $537,005 in grants for 11 projects from across the country to support the protection of America’s native cultures.

“Through these competitive grants,” said NPS Director Charles F. Sams III, “the National Park Service is able to work with American Indian Tribes and Alaskan and Hawaiian Native communities to preserve their cultural heritage and connect people with traditions of the past.”

This year’s grants include:

- Supporting historic preservation work at the Pueblo of Zuni by preparing a historical site assessment and mitigation plan for the repair and preservation of the Middle Village Kiva.

- In Maine, the Arrostook Band of Micmacs will conduct an oral history project documenting basket making and the story of an insect that threatens this important traditional cultural practice.

- In Alaska, the Knik Tribe will lead an archaeological survey, and map an important cultural area considered to be part of the Tribe’s Ancestral lands in the Upper Cook Inlet Dena’ina Territory, laying a foundation for future conservation easement.

These important these projects are critical to preserving Tribal heritage for future generations. Other projects funded by these grants will locate and identify cultural resources, preserve historic properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places, support comprehensive preservation planning, preserve oral history and cultural traditions, provide training for building a historic preservation program, and support cultural and historic preservation interpretation and education.

For more information about the grants and the Tribal Heritage Grant program, please visit http://go.nps.gov/tribalheritage. Applications for at least $500,000 in 2022 funding will be available in fall 2022.