N.C. American Indian Heritage Commission and N.C. Museum of History Receive Grants to Expand Oral History Project

The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is pleased to announce that the North Carolina American Indian Heritage Commission and the North Carolina Museum of History have been awarded grants from the Catawba Nation Foundation.

The North Carolina Museum of History has been awarded a $7,000 grant from the Foundation to support the 30th annual American Indian Heritage Celebration. The Catawba Nation Foundation's generous contribution to this event will help bring together Native artists, dancers, singers, and tribal community leaders from across the state and beyond. This funding supports opportunities for native artists, dancers, singers, and tribal community leaders to come together and showcase their culture in one of the largest intertribal cultural events in the state.

"The Catawba Nation Foundation is honored to support the North Carolina American Indian Heritage Commission and the North Carolina Museum of History through these grants," said Kristine Urrutia, executive director of the Catawba Nation Foundation. "By helping preserve the voices of our elders and celebrating the traditions of our people, we ensure that future generations will understand not only the challenges we have faced but also the resilience, wisdom, and contributions of Native communities. We are proud to help strengthen spaces where Native stories and culture are uplifted and shared across North Carolina."

The AIHC's $10,000 grant will be used to expand an oral history project in collaboration with the State Archives of North Carolina that will help deepen public understanding and appreciation of American Indian history and culture. Although North Carolina is home to a large American Indian population, their voices, traditions, and rich cultural contributions remain disproportionately underrepresented in the public record. As tribal elders age and pass away, there is a significant risk of losing their invaluable stories forever.

Seed funding from the National Archives awarded in 2024 allowed the commission to hire an oral historian, who has been traveling the state collecting stories from elders and digitizing them for preservation within the State Archives. This new grant will broaden efforts and allow the oral historian to collect even more oral histories.

The oral histories are in-depth interviews that highlight American Indians who wish to share their lived experiences. The commission is interviewing individuals from all eight state-recognized tribes, four urban American Indian organizations, and American Indian communities in North Carolina that wish to participate.

"Oral histories allow us to capture the life experiences of American Indians to share with people a hundred years from now," said NCAIHC Director Kerry Bird. "We're extremely grateful to the Catawba Nation Foundation for supporting this effort."

To recommend a person to be interviewed, contact Quinn Godwin at 919-814-6773 or [email protected].

About the Catawba Nation Foundation
The Catawba Nation Foundation is an independent nonprofit funded primarily by gaming revenues from Two Kings Casino. The Foundation strengthens the Catawba Nation, the Cleveland County region, and Native American tribes and organizations across North Carolina by investing in cultural preservation, educational advancement, economic development, and environmental stewardship. Through support for nonprofit organizations, community initiatives, and collaborative partnerships, the Foundation works to honor the past, uplift the present, and create sustainable opportunities for future generations.

The Foundation is governed by a governor-appointed board, including Chief Brian Harris, Chair; Assistant Chief Patricia Leach, Vice Chair; John Searby, Secretary; Newton Craver, Treasurer; Jennifer Beck Walker; Nicole Braswell; Lacey Edwards; Phillip Glover; Harvey Godwin, Jr.; Deb Hardin; Omar Porter; and Brooke Richey.

For more information, visit https://www.catawbanationfoundation.org.

About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina - its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.

The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit https://www.dncr.nc.gov.

Related Topics: