Native Voices Endowment Grants

The Native Voices Endowment Grants, managed by the Endangered Language Fund, support the preservation of endangered languages associated with Native American tribes that interacted with the Lewis and Clark Expedition from 1803-1806. Grants are available for language documentation, revitalization, and educational projects, fostering cultural heritage through various initiatives. Eligible applicants include tribal members and language programs, ensuring the continuation of linguistic traditions and community involvement in revitalizing native languages.

Our main mechanism for supporting work on endangered languages has been funding grants to individuals, tribes, and museums. ELF’s grants have promoted work in over 60 countries and have funded a wide range of projects, from the development indigenous radio programs in South Dakota, to recording of the last living oral historian of the Shor language of western Siberia, to the establishment of orthographies and literacy materials to be used by endangered language teaching programs all over the world.
Grants are available for work on documentation and revitalization of the languages of these tribes (see list of eligible languages here).
Examples of successful applications from past NVE cycles include:
Native language education programs, curricula, or projectsIndividual language study by Native students who are pursuing study with:universities or colleges offering coursework or research in the student's Native language, ora proficient tribal language speaker of the student's Native language in a mentor-apprentice program, private immersion, or tutelage arrangementDocumentation and recording of an eligible Native language for preservation and future education (examples include video or audio recording of elder speakers, private instruction or immersion classes, books or films)Scholarships and travel grants for participants to institutes or other types of training/workshops that support the documentation or revitalization of an eligible Native language

Eligibility

Proposals will be accepted only from:individuals who are enrolled tribal members or employees of a tribal collegetribal government language programstribal community language programstribal schools and collegesIndividuals or groups who apply must further belong to one or more of the following groups:Federally recognized tribes, tribes seeking federal recognition, or tribes with state recognition whose ancestors experienced contact with the 1803-1806 Lewis & Clark ExpeditionThose whose ancestral homelands were traversed by the Lewis & Clark ExpeditionThose whose community customs or languages were recorded by the Lewis & Clark ExpeditionEligible ExpensesSalaries, equipment, supplies, consultant fees, travel, and publication costs are eligible. Eligible salaries may include those for tribally enrolled teachers, mentors, researchers, traditional teachers, elders, and storytellers. If, at any time during or at the conclusion of a funded project, the primary project manager leaves the project or language program, ownership of all equipment, such as video or audio recorders or computers, funded by a Native Voices Endowment grant, shall revert to the tribe whose language was subject of the funded project.

Ineligibility

Indirect and general operating expenses are not eligible for funding.