Pacific Northwest Cultural Arts Program | P20AS00063

Opportunity Information: Apply for P20AS00063

The Pacific Northwest Cultural Arts Program (Funding Opportunity Number P20AS00063) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, focused on strengthening and sustaining Northwest Coast and Alaska Native cultural arts. The opportunity is grounded in the view, shared by the Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI), the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS), and supported historically by Alaska state leadership, that Northwest Coast arts need added investment to ensure these living traditions continue and that the cultural arts can keep contributing to long-term economic development across Alaska and the broader Pacific Northwest.

At the heart of the program is a formal partnership: SHI, IAIA, and UAS signed a Memorandum of Agreement to coordinate their efforts to stabilize, renew, and expand Northwest Coast art traditions through education, training, and collaborative programming. This grant is intended to continue and build on earlier National Park Service-supported work initiated under prior awards (P18AP00112 and P19AP00037). The consortiums ongoing objective is to enhance Northwest Coast art programs and instructional opportunities, expand collaborative academic offerings, enrich Northwest Coast arts for Alaska students, and extend access to these programs to students beyond Alaska, including nationally. In practice, this frames the grant as both a cultural preservation effort and an education and workforce pipeline effort for artists and culture bearers.

Legally and programmatically, the opportunity is tied to the Fiscal Year 2020 National Recreation and Preservation cultural preservation authorization, which directed the National Park Service to consider supporting Northwest Coast arts through the joint work of SHI, IAIA, and UAS pursuant to 20 USC 4451(b). The National Park Service reviewed Title 20 authorities and determined that providing a grant to SHI, acting on behalf of the SHI/IAIA/UAS consortium, fits federal requirements and aligns with the consortiums Memorandum of Agreement. The NPS also notes that protecting both historic and living art traditions is consistent with the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.), reinforcing the preservation rationale behind the funding.

In terms of funding details, the opportunity lists an award ceiling of $1,500,000, with one expected award. The eligible applicant type is federally recognized Native American tribal governments, but the announcement is explicitly a notice of intent to award to Sealaska Heritage Institute, meaning it is effectively a targeted, sole-entity award rather than an open competitive process. The original posting date was April 17, 2020, with an original closing date of April 23, 2020, and the announcement clearly states that applications will not be accepted from any other entity. The funding activity categories include arts, education, and humanities (CFDA 15.946), reflecting that the program sits at the intersection of cultural preservation, formal instruction, and broader cultural affairs.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the arts (see cultural affairs in cfda), education, humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Pacific Northwest Cultural Arts Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.946.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 17, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 23, 2020 This is a notice of intent to award to Sealaska Heritage Institute. Applications will not be accepted from any other entity.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).

Apply for P20AS00063

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