#PortlandME #ChildrensMuseum loses federal grant intended for #WabanakiHistory programs
by Gillian Graham, Portland Press Herald, Maine
Sat, April 12, 2025 at 4:06 AM EDT
"The Trump administration has terminated a nearly $250,000 grant the Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine was using for programs about #Wabanaki culture and history.
"The Portland museum was awarded the money last year from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and was already deep in the process of developing a project that includes programs for schoolchildren and other visitors, curriculum support for teachers and a play adapted from a children's book.
"Then an email arrived late Wednesday night notifying Executive Director Julie Butcher Pezzino that the grant has been terminated, casting uncertainty on how the nonprofit organization will pay for the project.
" 'It sort of feels like the rug was pulled out from under us in the middle of an important project,' she said. 'It's pretty brutal. It's a big loss in promised funds for an organization like ours.'
"The children's museum is among the many #museums, #libraries and other organizations across the country that are now scrambling to deal with the loss of funding they depended on to operate.
"President Donald #Trump signed an executive order declaring the Institute of Museum and Library Services [#IMLS], the primary federal support for U.S. libraries and museums, 'unnecessary' and vowing to eliminate or nearly eliminate it. Weeks later, he placed the federal agency's entire staff on a 90-day leave.
"This week, the #MaineStateLibrary laid off 13 staff members — nearly one-third of its staff — and closed for two weeks to restructure its operations because its funding from #IMLS is indefinitely suspended, according to State Librarian #LoriFisher.
"Maine is among more than 20 states suing the federal government over its attempt to shutter IMLS. That suit also challenges Trump's targeting of the Minority Business Development Agency and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
"The IMLS last year awarded $266.7 million in grants, research and policy development to museums, libraries and related organizations.
"The children's museum was awarded the $224,143 Museums for America grant in August, the first time in two decades it had received a grant from the IMLS.
"The museum had already received a $40,000 reimbursement from the grant funding and had requested another $15,000 reimbursement. But that second reimbursement never came and with Trump's comments about eliminating the agency, the museum staff and board were worried about the funding even before it was canceled.
" 'We had some concerns and suspicions, given the news and the termination of all the staff members at IMLS,' Butcher Pezzino said. 'That didn't feel like it would bode well.'"
Source:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/childrens-museum-loses-federal-grant-080600799.html
#CulturalErasure #TrumpIsABully #USPol #NativeAmericanCulture #WabanakiConfederacy #MaineFirstNations #History #ErasingHistory
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