Tribal Heritage Grant Application Information

The funding opportunity is limited to the groups above as defined by 54 USC 300309, 54 USC 300313, 54 USC 300314. Registration with these websites can take 2 to 3 weeks, so please allow plenty of time. If the project is funded, applicants should expect to be able to begin work no sooner than the fall. Please take this into consideration when creating a project timeline. Proposed projects should be completed within two to three years.

What is Funded?

Locating and Identifying Cultural Resources

1. Survey and Inventory of Historic or Significant Places. A first step toward protecting and preserving significant historic and traditional places is locating and identifying them through a systematic and comprehensive survey. The results of the survey can provide the basis for making sound judgments concerning projects such as roads or logging that may damage or threaten places important to the Tribe.
   • Eligible projects in this category might include a survey of an area to identify archeological, ethnographic, and historic resources and/or evaluate properties that may be eligible for listing in a tribal register or,
   • Listing in the National Register of Historic Places (Refer to National Register nomination guidance or the National Historic Landmark guidance) is the goal.
   • Surveys must follow the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Identification.
   • All surveys must be conducted, supervised, reviewed, or verified by a person(s) from the appropriate discipline who meets the Secretary of Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards. For example, an archeologist is needed for an archeological survey project while a traditional cultural authority, recognized by the Tribe, is needed for a survey of traditional cultural properties.
2. Survey of Traditional Skills and Information. Another kind of survey project is determining your community’s cultural needs by identifying the available individuals in the community who can assist in the preservation, protection, and transmission of skills and traditions between generations. This can be accomplished through cultural needs assessments, ethno-botanical projects, and survey of traditional skills. (Please do not confuse this kind of survey with doing an oral history project. The purpose of projects under this category is simply to identify tribal traditions/skills and who possesses that knowledge. Once this information is collected, the Tribe may decide later to pursue an oral history and documentation project.)

Preserving a Historic Property listed in the National Register of Historic Places

Under Category 2, the NPS gives priority to projects that preserve tribally owned buildings or that stabilize and protect archaeological sites. All work under this category must be carried out in compliance with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatments of Historic Properties and the Secretary of Interior’s Archeological Documentation Standards.

1. Project Planning (Plans and Specifications for Preserving a Specific Structure or Site). Grant funds may be used to research and plan for the physical preservation of a historic or cultural property that is either listed in, or determined eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places, or is a National Historic Landmark (NHL). This category includes planning activities such as building condition assessments, plans and specifications for building repair, stabilization of an archeological site, and historic structure reports to preserve a particular historic building. Such project plans and condition assessments can be very helpful in raising funds to repair a particular building.

Project Planning grants (2.A) would include one or both of the following:

• Predevelopment Studies. Historic Structure Reports, Engineering Reports, Historic Landscape Studies, and Archeological Documentation Reports must present an assessment of the potential impacts of the proposed work on the resources. These documents also must clearly illustrate how the work will be carried out in compliance with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatments of Historic Propertiesand with other accepted professional standards or technical guidance, such as Secretary of Interior’s Archeological Documentation Standards, or the relevant Preservation Briefs. These reports define the project so that all aspects of the future preservation work can be understood by reviewers familiar with the applicable Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatments of Historic Properties.
• Working Drawings/Architectural Plans and Specifications. These documents detail the exact scope of repair work to be carried out. Plans and specifications must define the project so that all aspects of work can be understood by reviewers familiar with the applicable Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatments of Historic Properties, and must comply with those Treatment Standards. Grant proposals for this sub-category need to indicate that the applicant will secure the services of professional staff or consultants (see Secretary of Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards) with past experience in producing predevelopment documents that met the Secretary’s Treatment Standards

1. Repair Work to Preserve a Specific Historic Structure or Site. Tribal grant funds may also be used to repair a National Historic Landmark (NHL) or a property listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The maximum request is $65,000.

Only historic structures or sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places or NHLs will receive consideration for category 2.B. A historic structure or site determined eligible for listing, but not already listed in the National Register of Historic Places will not be considered.

If you apply for funding in this category (2.B), you must briefly discuss:

• the significance of the resource (indicate the date when the structure or site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places);
• its current condition;
• the proposed preservation work that will be done with grant assistance;
• how the building will be used after it is repaired, and;
• if this application is a phase of a larger repair project.

You must enclose the architectural plans and specifications, along with photos of the property/site (see photo requirements below), with your grant application. If you have already competitively selected a preservation architect to oversee the work to be performed, then enclose the resume of that architect or contractor. Costs of installing a protective fence, alarm or surveillance devices, or stone riprap to prevent erosion of an archaeological site are eligible grant costs.

If you are applying for a grant to repair a structure owned by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, provide:

• A brief discussion of the status of the Tribe’s ownership or use of the building, and
• Enclose a letter from the BIA indicating its support and cooperation.

1. Section 106 and NEPA Compliance Requirements

Pre-development and repair projects require NPS review of all plans and specifications of proposed work for compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Guidelines for Archeology & Historic Preservation, with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) prior to any work commencing.

• Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires federal agencies to consider the effects of federal impact on historic properties. Section 106 requires that NPS, as the federal agency responsible for the funding, review all proposed work to ensure that it will have “no adverse effect” on the historic property.
• Similarly, NEPA requires that federal agencies review all federally-funded work for potential environmental adverse effects.
• Applicants should allow no less than 3 months in their project timeline for NPS to complete the reviews described above. However, if potential adverse issues are identified, the review process could take longer.

Comprehensive Preservation Planning

Once a tribe has identified important historic, cultural and traditional places and resources, whether on or off the reservation, the next step is planning for the protection, preservation, and management of these resources. The development of comprehensive preservation plans, tribal historic preservation ordinances, executing easements, land swaps, and facilitating the transfer of development rights are all eligible projects under this category. Planning for the preservation for identified sites for the future is also important and eligible. Planning projects should consult the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Preservation Planning.

Both preservation plans and ordinances lead to a systematic approach for making informed decisions about resource protection and management. Land-use planning and protection techniques can be effective tools that significantly strengthen a tribe’s ability to protect important historic and cultural places. NOTE: THIS CATEGORY DOES NOT COVER THE “PLAN,” REQUIRED BY THE NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT, TO BECOME A TRIBAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE (THPO). Maximum request is $50,000.

Oral History and Documenting Cultural Traditions

Documenting cultural traditions and skills is one way that tribes can preserve and transmit their culture to future generations. Eligible projects include the documentation and teaching of traditional practices, skills, lifeways, stories, songs, and dances. Interviewing elders to collect traditional stories, songs, skills, lifeways, knowledge, wisdom, and values are also eligible activities under this grant category. Oral history projects promote the use of native language, document oral traditions, and promote cultural preservation. Process and plans should followThe Oral History Association (OHA) professional standards for oral history practitioners in the United States.

Training and Education for Building a Historic Preservation Program

One way to preserve significant cultural properties and sites is to build and sustain a historic preservation or cultural resource preservation program on the reservation. Many training and skills-building activities that support such a goal are eligible activities under this category. These include training council members or culture committee members, or permanent tribal staff in preservation practices, laws and regulations (such as Section 106), land-use planning, survey methods, Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), database management, or curation and collections management. Salary and fringe benefits are not allowable costs under this category. Maximum request is $50,000.

Cultural and Historic Preservation Interpretation and Education

Other projects that promote cultural or historic preservation either through an educational or a service component and benefits the community or visitors would be listed under this category. All costs must be eligible and in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act and HPF Manual Guidelines. Authentic interpretation connecting the people, places, and context that shaped events can occur in traditional settings such as museums, but interpretation is also an important part of place-based learning. It can be presented through digital technology, heritage trail guides, visitor exhibits, living history programs, or plans for a tribe’s historic resources. When choosing a medium for interpretation, such as print, web based, film, or audiovisual media, it is important to consider the lifespan of the product, the audience, and its reach. This category also includes projects that support heritage education through curriculum development, after-school programs, and continuing adult or senior education using local heritage assets. All products should have an identified audience, a clear plan for outreach and dissemination, and be related to an overall plan for interpretation and education.

How to Apply:

Application packages must be submitted using grants.gov in response to a notice of funding opportunity number under Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA) 15.966. Detailed application instructions are posted on grants.gov. For technical issues related to using grants.gov or questions about registering with grants.gov, please call 1-800-518-4726. For questions about completing an application, please email our office or call 202-354-2020.

What is Not Funded?

• New Construction.
• Tribes without a DUNS number.

The application requires a DUNS number; applications/Tribes without that DUNS number are not eligible

• General Language Projects.

We do not fund language curriculum projects including dictionaries, orthographies, and general language curriculum development. The Administration for Native Americans offers a grant program that funds language projects through the Native American Language Act of 1992. For more information, contact the Administration for Native Americans, Mail Stop 2nd floor, West Aerospace Center, 370 L’Enfant Promenade, SW, Washington, DC 20447-0002 (Attention- ANA Help Desk); or telephone 1-877-922-9262; e-mail anacomments@acf.hhs.gov; or visit their website.

• NAGPRA Projects.

We do not fund projects designed for carrying out the provisions of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Requests for support of these activities should be directed to: National NAGPRA, National Park Service, telephone (202) 354-2201; e-mail NAGPRA_info@nps.gov; or visit their website.

• Project mitigation work pursuant to Section 106.
• Non-Federally Recognized Tribes. Applications from tribes that are not federally recognized.
• Projects without a Tribal Resolution.
• Indirect Costs above 25%.

Indirect Cost Rates that result in charges above 25% of the total grant award. See explanation in Section V. Budget Description Instructions, below.

• Repair Grants for Properties not listed in the National Register of Historic Places. See Category 2.B.
• Moving Historic Structures.

Costs of moving a historic structure are not eligible for tribal grant assistance. Moving a historic structure often can cause it to be removed from the National Register of Historic Places, and only structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places are eligible for grant assistance to repair and preserve them.

• Salaries of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs) already funded by the NPS.

Tribes who have been approved by the NPS to assume SHPO responsibilities under Section 101(d) of the National Historic Preservation Act and already receive funding under this program, may not charge THPO salaries to a project grant.

• Salaries for a Training Grant.

While travel costs and training course fees are eligible for a Category 5 grant, costs of salaries and fringe benefits are not eligible. Applications under Category 5 containing salary costs will not be reviewed.

• Delinquent Grantees.

Tribes or Alaskan Native or Native Hawaiian groups that have previously received a Historic Preservation Fund grant, but whose grant expired without successfully completing major elements of the proposed work, or without meeting the conditions of the grant award, will not be considered for funding in FY 2019.

• Construction of new buildings.
• Acquisition of collections or historic sites.
• Conservation of collections, except as part of gathering oral history documentation.
• Long-term maintenance or curatorial work beyond the grant period.
• Reconstructing historic properties (recreating all or a significant portion that no longer exists).
• Moving historic properties or work to historic properties that have been moved and are no longer eligible for listing in the NRHP.
• Cash reserves, endowments, or revolving funds.
• Fund-raising costs.
• Work performed prior to announcement of award.
• Lobbying or advocacy activities.
• Costs for work already funded through other federal programs such as the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program, American Battlefield Protection Program or other non-HPF grants.

Requirements

• Non-federal matching share is not required for the Tribal Heritage Grant program but may be considered as part of the evaluation process. Non-federal match may be in the form of cash or donated time, services, or materials, but must be expended during the grant period. Match is considered part of the grant funding and is subject to all of the same requirements as the federal funds.
• Grant projects should be completed in 2 years.
• Personnel time and/or materials must be directly related to the grant project in order to be eligible costs charged to the grant award.
• Administrative costs, both direct and indirect, may not exceed 25% of the total project cost of both the federal grant award and any non-federal match per the National Historic Preservation Act.
• If your budget includes indirect costs, then you must include a copy of your federally-approved Indirect Cost Rate Agreement or a letter indicating that you have never negotiated a rate and have chosen the 10% de minimis rate as specified in 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements and Cost Principles for Federal Awards , 2 CFR 200 Section 200.414 and 2 CFR Part 200, Appendix III through VII as applicable.
• Competitive selection of all consultants and contracting is required as stipulated in 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements and Cost Principles for Federal Awards.
• Maximum hourly wages charged to this grant for personnel and consultants may not exceed 120% of the salary of a Federal Civil Service GS-15, Step 10. Current salary tables can be found on the Office of Personnel Management website.
• Budgeted travel costs must adhere to the federal mileage and per diem travel limits found at www.gsa.gov.
• Work must be conducted, supervised, reviewed, or verified by a person(s) from the appropriate discipline who meets the Secretary of Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards.

Selection Process

NPS personnel and qualified Federal employees will review all complete proposals using the criteria outlined below. Reviewers’ evaluations are based solely on the material provided in the application. Additional materials not specifically required by the application, and materials sent separately from the application, will not be considered. A summary of the review panel comments may be provided to the applicant if requested after the grant process is complete.

Panel recommendations will be made to the Secretary of the Interior who will select successful applicants and forward to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. NPS will conduct risk assessments on all projects prior to funding. Matching funds are not required but may be considered as part of the evaluation process.