Tlingit elders Shirley Kendall (left) and Ruth Demmert (center) study a beaded cloth tunic with Virginia Oliver (right) in the collections of the NMAI, March 2017. Photo: Theresa Mitchell
Community Research Program application documents:
Cover Sheet_2019, Guidelines 2019, Budget Template_2019, Example_Budget_2019, Budget_Supplement_Sheet 2019, Example Budget Justification 2019, SI Collections Supplement
Every year Recovering Voices in the National Museum of Natural History’s Department of Anthropology supports community scholars in their efforts towards language and knowledge reclamation and revitalization. Recovering Voices will start accepting Community Research Program proposals for 2019 on July 15, 2018. We are thrilled to continue supporting community efforts through the Community Research Program in 2019 for the seventh year!
The Community Research Program aims to support indigenous communities in their efforts to save, document, and revitalize their languages, cultures, and knowledge systems. Supported research projects bring groups of community scholars from around the world to the Smithsonian to examine specific objects, specimens, and archival materials related to their heritage and to engage in a dialogue with Smithsonian collections and archives staff in order to recover and revitalize their language and knowledge. These research visits have a significant impact on both the visiting community and the Smithsonian Institution giving us an opportunity to collaborate and share information.
Several supplemental documents are available to assist you in preparing proposal materials. This call for proposals happens on an annual schedule so if you are not ready to apply by the deadline, you have plenty of time to prepare a proposal for the following year. Projects selected for support in 2018 will take place during the 2019 calendar year.
The 2019 Community Research Program call for proposals will close on September 15, 2018. Each proposal can request up to $10,000 in funding support. Logistics support for funded projects is provided by the Recovering Voices office. We encourage interdisciplinary, intergenerational, and collaborative projects to apply. The guidelines and materials required for the application package are available on our website: recoveringvoices.si.edu/resourcesandgrants/grants.html. To learn about past supported projects visit our Community Research page. You will also find information about many recent projects on our blog.
Community researchers from the Isle de Jean Charles in Louisiana work to match archival records with collections objects in the NMAI Archives Center in October 2017. Left to right: Boyo Billiot, Nathan Sowry, Chantel Comardelle. Photo: Judith Andrews