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NEH & Michigan

Between 2006 and 2010, institutions and individuals in Michigan received $14.6 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Michigan Humanities Council for projects that explore the human endeavor and preserve our cultural heritage. Below are some examples.

  • The Henry Ford in Dearborn has been awarded five grant totaling nearly $800,000 since 2006 to conduct teacher workshops on the topic of America’s Industrial Revolution. Under the guidance of humanities scholars, teachers study material artifacts and primary documents, while also visiting the museum’s Ford Rouge Factory and historic Greenfield Village. The Henry Ford has also developed curricular materials for classroom use.
  • Michigan State University, East Lansing, received a $350,000 grant in 2008 to preserve video of the longrunning television series American Black Journal. Nearly a thousand videotapes of the program are being preserved, with a set of DVDs provided to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History, Detroit.
  • The Marquette County History Museum has been awarded a challenge grant of more than $300,000 for a new facility in downtown Marquette that will feature children’s classrooms, artifact storage and display space, and a large reception area.
  • Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, received more than $220,000 in 2006 from NEH’s Landmarks of American History program for The American Farm in U.S. History. Teachers participated in workshops in which they acquired the skills and content necessary to inspire high school students to “see the historical significance of nearby places.”
  • With support from three NEH grants from 2006 to 2008 totaling $13,000, the Ella Sharp Museum, Jackson, took steps to protect its collection by improving its storage facilities. The museum’s textile collection includes items dating from the 1830s such as quilts, coverlets, and flags.
  • Calvin College, Grand Rapids, has been awarded $266,000 to begin work on a comprehensive online index of hymnals published in North America. The index will be developed in cooperation with the Princeton Theological Seminary Library and the Hymn Society.
  • Alpena Community College has received $124,000 to conduct workshops for community college faculty on the topic Shipwrecks and Maritime Landscapes of the Great Lakes. The workshops will use discoveries at shipwreck sites in Thunder Bay to explore artifact- and place-based education.
  • The Michigan Humanities Council awarded $15,000 to Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant for the Story Festival, in which four thousand participants attended cultural dance performances, interactive exhibits, and workshops on book-making and storytelling.
  • In 2010, the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo was awarded $8,100 from the Michigan Humanities Council for Women of New France, events and demonstrations that showcased how colonial women lived and worked during the period 1691–1781.
  • In 2010, the Michigan Commission on the Commemoration of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 was awarded $15,000 from the Michigan Humanities Council for a film/video documentary on Michigan’s role in the War of 1812.