PORTLAND, Ore. – “The Indians aren’t still around, are they?”

Remarks like this from an unnamed resident of Portland, are more common
than is often assumed.

The good news is that the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial commemoration
starting this fall offers Indians a unique opportunity to redress this
ignorance. The bad news is that even though $240,000 remains available,
tribes and tribal organizations are not taking advantage of the funds.

WHY THE APATHY?

“Subtle racism is so prevalent,” Director of Alaska Native Studies and
associate professor of history at the University of Alaska at Anchorage,
Jeanne Eder explained. “It’s easy to get discouraged and feel like telling
our story is not worth the effort. But we need to because so many
non-Indians, while they try to be well meaning, are simply not forthcoming
in pushing for equality for Indians.”

Eder was one of only two Indians involved in planning stages as early as
1994. “Even getting the group to use the word commemoration instead of
celebration was a struggle,” Eder observed. “And money that I wanted to
spend on a western research facility that would have helped the tribes to
tell their stories long after the actual bicentennial went instead to new
visitors’ centers across the Lewis and Clark trail.”

The problem with the visitor centers, according to Eder, “is that they are
run by non-Natives and some of the displays do nothing more than keep
Indians in some romantic distant past. Thus, these places become merely
storage cases for old materials instead of telling the whole story about
what the longer term effects of Lewis and Clark were on the tribes.”

Taking advantage of the $240,000 William and Flora Hewlett Foundation money
is a way to help counteract those influences. The funds are earmarked
specifically for tribes interested in promoting cultural awareness and
protecting cultural resources in conjunction with the Lewis and Clark
commemoration.

“We want to fund projects with the message,” said Cultural Awareness
Coordinator of the National Council Lewis & Clark Bicentennial, Sammye
Meadows, “that we are still here – we have survived 200 years of genocide,
removal, and we have our own stories to tell.

“One problem is that we have had a lack of proposals,” Meadows said. “We
hope that more of our eligible tribes on the Circle of Tribal Advisors
(COTA) roster take advantage of this opportunity.” Around half of the 40
COTA tribes have submitted successful proposals so far. (For a listing of
COTA members see www.lewisandclark200.org)

Professor Eder still bristles from memories of planning meetings she
attended as early as 1994. “The white men from the historical societies
that ran things were patronizing and insulting, and now they are getting
all the credit for planning the commemoration,” she said. “It’s so
important to understand that we still have racism to overcome and that we
need Native people to jump up and tell our story.”

Individual grants range from $2,500 to $10,000 and are available to
American Indian tribes that either encountered Lewis and Clark or whose
homelands were traversed by the expedition. Tribes are encouraged to submit
proposals for multiple projects. The Osage tribe, for example, has already
been awarded two separate grants, one for its tourism department and the
other for the tribal museum. Interested tribal groups are encouraged to
examine both historic and contemporary issues.

Written proposals not longer than three pages are required for
consideration. They should contain a synopsis of the project, including its
long-term benefits and how the success of the venture will be measured.
Particulars related to the stakeholders, audience, and time frame are also
required in addition to a budget that states how the money requested will
be matched by grant recipients in either in-kind services or actual cash.

The funding period runs from the remainder of 2004 through September 2006,”
said Meadows. “We have had several previously-published deadlines. We are
at the moment, however, considering changing to revolving deadlines three
times a year. If a tribe or tribal organization misses one deadline, we
would carry their proposal over to the next deadline. We haven’t fully
decided on that route yet, but are leaning that way.” For updated
deadlines, contact Katherine Hunn, COTA executive assistant at
cota@lewisandclark200.org.

Topics interested groups might consider in putting a proposal together
include subjects focused on cultural resource protection, projects related
to cultural awareness generally as well as those emphasizing natural
resource protection, and offerings that highlight language revitalization.
Successful proposals include those focused on making film documentaries,
hiring archivists to collect historic materials, undertaking a language
renewal project, developing a tribal resource handbook, facilitating
student education and exchange between Indian and non-Indian students and
creating an inter-tribal American Indian arts and crafts market.

Applicants are encouraged to make creative links between the past and the
present. Diverse partnerships and collaborations are also a plus, as are
any ideas that help educate the public and add to the enjoyment of sharing
the pride, beauty, and honor of – in Vine DeLoria’s words: “the nations
within.”