Museum Receives Two Prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities Awards

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded two exceedingly competitive grants to the High Desert Museum for a total of $240,337.

Both grants support increased storytelling about and educational resources for the High Desert region, a largely rural, lesser-known expanse that stretches from the Rockies to the Cascades.

“The High Desert Museum is a cultural and historical gem in Central Oregon,” U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said. “I’m gratified this federal investment will further enhance the Museum’s mission to ‘wildly excite and responsibly teach’ Oregonians and visitors from around the world who are eager to learn more about the history of the High Desert and its natural wonders.”

“The High Desert Museum enriches lives in Central Oregon and beyond through incredible art and storytelling that connects us to one another and expands our understanding of the world around us,” U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley said. “I am looking forward to seeing the Museum channel this federal investment into exciting projects that highlight the unique history and treasures of the High Desert through high-quality education and cultural experiences for students, families and visitors.”

“We’re grateful to the NEH and Senators Wyden and Merkley for supporting these innovative projects,” said Museum Executive Director Dana Whitelaw, Ph.D. “The High Desert is home to unique landscapes, cultures and wildlife, and while it is vast, it’s stories and issues are not always widely shared.”

“The Museum is the only institution in the nation dedicated to the exploration of the High Desert, and these grant awards allow the Museum to dive deeper into our mission to serve as a resource about and for the region,” Whitelaw said. “We hope the projects will help promote dialogue and connection in communities.”

One grant, for $140,795 in the NEH category of Cultural and Community Resilience, will support a video story-gathering initiative that will bring together 30 long-form interviews from residents across the High Desert, ranging from ranchers to Tribal members. The interviews will delve into how changes in climate are impacting the region’s landscape and ways of life, and will be paired with historical records, scientific data and more to capture knowledge of the region’s cultural heritage and economies during a time of transition. The outcome of the two-year project will be an online resource available to all, including educators and scholars.

The second grant, in the NEH category Digital Projects for the Public: Prototyping, provides $99,542 for the prototyping of a dynamic, interactive web presence immersing online visitors in the relationships between the people, wildlife and landscapes of the High Desert. Through comprehensive storytelling and engaging digital modalities, the site will help raise awareness about this unique region and serve as an educational resource. The development of the website would be a subsequent step after prototyping.

The Museum has been the proud recipient of a number of NEH grants in recent years.

In April 2024, the NEH provided $500,000 toward the Museum’s revitalization of its permanent exhibition dedicated to the Indigenous cultures of the region. By Hand Through Memory opened in 1999, supported in part by NEH funding. Hand in hand with Native partners, the Museum has been working on a renovation of the exhibition for the last five years.

In 2019, NEH awarded the Museum $45,000 to support the planning of the renovation. The agency also awarded the Museum $500,000 in 2023 to support an associated expansion of the Museum, bringing the total commitment to the Museum’s expansion and renovation plans to $1,045,000.

The Museum opened in 1982. Founder Donald M. Kerr envisioned the space as an immersive experience that highlights the wonder of the High Desert. He also intended for the Museum and its programs to spark dialogue and bring people together in conversations about what they want for the region’s future.

Today, the Museum every year shares up to nine rotating temporary exhibitions, serves thousands of children in school field trips, and provides free and reduced-price admissions to nearly 15,000 visitors. It welcomed more than 219,000 visitors in 2024.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (neh.gov) is an independent federal agency that supports cultural institutions in their efforts to facilitate research and original scholarship, provides opportunities for lifelong learning, preserves and provides access to cultural and educational resources, and strengthens the institutional base of the humanities throughout the nation. Learn more about the grant and its recipients here. A full list of grants by location is available here.