Books Diversity Community Orgs
State Grants to Boost Cultural Programs at Hmong Association, L.E. Phillips Library
Wisconsin Humanities awards each group $10,000
V1 Staff |
Public cultural projects by two Eau Claire organizations are among the statewide recipients of $60,000 in grants from Wisconsin Humanities.
The Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association and the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library will each receive $10,000 from the group, an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. According to a media release, “Wisconsin Humanities grants to nonprofits amplify existing initiatives, cultivate partnerships, and facilitate meaningful dialogue to strengthen and support the civic and social fabric of Wisconsin.”
The grant to the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association will help fund “Discovering Hmong Roots Through Traditional Clothing: Reminiscing the Diaspora from Laos to the United States.” According to the media release, the exhibit is meant to encourage “conversations between Hmong youth and elders, strengthens intergenerational connections, and provides opportunities for Hmong individuals to identify their roots.”
“Through traditional clothing displays and descriptions of corresponding dialects and traditions associated with the article of clothing, participants will be encouraged to identify the clothing worn by their families and to consult with parents and elders for insight,” the grant announcement stated. “With a map of Laos, attendees will be invited to mark their region and facilitate data regarding the geographical distribution of Hmong individuals in the Chippewa Valley. With the return of the Eau Claire Hmong New Year celebration after a pandemic-induced four-year hiatus, the project and exhibit provides a cultural educational opportunity for non-Hmong visitors to the long-awaited Hmong New Year celebration.”
The grant to the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library will fund a community-wide “One Book, One Community” reading program later this year that will encourage residents to read Mona Susan Power’s novel, A Council of Dolls, which addresses the legacy of Native American boarding schools. “In addition to an author visit” – which will be Oct. 22 as part of the Chippewa Valley Book Festival – “programming for all ages will be presented by tribal leaders, culture bearers, Native storytellers, and chefs on the topics of Indian boarding schools, oral history, foraging, and Native American rights. The range of programming will reach both Native American audiences and non-Indigenous community members and create space for cultural exploration and education on historical and current-day experiences of Native American peoples in the Chippewa Valley,” the media release stated.
Organizations in Beloit, Viola, and Milwaukee also received funding during the most recent round of grants from Wisconsin Humanities.
Learn more about Wisconsin Humanities and its grant programs at wisconsinhumanities.org.
