Humanities grants terminated; arts and culture programs in Guam, CNMI facing shutdown

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

Guam's and the Northern Mariana Islands' arts and cultural agencies may have to put up the shutters due to the federal government’s termination of active grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The federal government rescinded the five-year general operating support grants and other program-specific awards for Humanities Guåhan and the Northern Marianas Humanities Council.

“The consequences for Guam and the broader Micronesian region will be significant,” Humanities Guahan said.

In 2023, Humanities Guahan was among the recipients of the NEH’s $1.3 million grant for the Pacific Islands Cultural Initiative, which it shared with the Northern Marianas Humanities Council, the Hawaii Council for the Humanities and the Amerika Samoa Humanities Council.

From FY 2019-FY 2023, NEH issued $3.4 million to support eight projects in Guam.

Humanities Guåhan recently awarded $25,000 worth of community grants to

Career Tech High Academy Charter School,  Department of Public Health and Social Services and the Guam Human Rights Initiative Inc.

The CNMI's humanities council received $1.4 million in the form of subgrants to individuals and community groups.

 “NEH grants awarded to our council account for approximately 93% of our annual operations and programmatic expenses," Leo Pangelinan, executive director of NMHC, said in a statement.

He said the NEH grants support 222 humanities projects in the CNMI.

“The cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities are a major loss for Guam and the wider region,” said CJ Ochoco, executive director of Humanities Guåhan. “NEH funding has supported projects that document our history, share our stories, and engage our community in meaningful dialogue.”

According to the New York Times—which published portions of the April 2 letter NEH sent to state agencies across the nation—the humanities agency “is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda” and “to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities.”

The termination of the grants took effect retroactively to April 1

Ochoco said critical initiatives, such as CHamoru language preservation and further study of Guam history, will be at risk with federal funds.

“These cuts don’t just impact institutions; they impact our ability to tell and preserve the stories that matter to our island,” he added.

While it depends largely on NEH for funding support, Humanities Guåhan also receives local funding.

Recently, the local government awarded Humanities Guåhan $10,000 through the Guam Economic Development Authority's Qualifying Certificate Community Contribution grant program to support the upcoming 7th Marianas History Conference.

Humanities Guåhan, previously known as Guam Humanities Council, is nonprofit organization founded in 1991. It relies on NEH grants to operate vital arts and culture programs such as “family literacy projects, youth engagement, elder storytelling, educator workshops, cultural preservation initiatives and regional partnerships that amplify CHamoru and Micronesian perspectives.”

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