Humanities funding enriches Flathead County

Last week, Humanities Montana became the latest casualty of DOGE when we received an email informing us that our federal grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, which accounts for 90% of our operating budget, had been terminated immediately. We’ve received these funds every year for over 50 years, and they have been cut off in the middle of our grant contract, which isn’t supposed to end until 2027. 

For half a century, Humanities Montana has provided grants and opportunities that bring writers, poets, historians, scholars, artists and performers to museums, community centers, parks, libraries and educational institutions, including in public, private and homeschool settings, across Big Sky Country. It’s heartbreaking to consider the impact of this cut on arts and culture in our state. Humanities are not a luxury; they are the fabric of our community. A foundation of our democracy.

As stated in the founding legislation of the National Endowment for the Humanities,

“Democracy demands wisdom and vision in its citizens. It must, therefore, foster and support a form of education and access to the arts and the humanities, designed to make people of all backgrounds and wherever located masters of their technology and not its unthinking servants.” 

Knowledge is power and should be accessible to all Montanans, whether they live in Bozeman, Browning or Broadus.

We are devastated but not defeated. Even with this news, we want to be clear that our doors are still open. We have some modest reserves to keep operating while we see how this unfolds nationally, and we will do everything we can to raise the funds necessary to continue the work. 

However, we know that private donations will not be able to replace federal funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This work is most effective when supported by a public-private partnership. Humanities Montana is federal funding done right — locally directed and locally delivered, with transparency and accountability to the people of Montana.

Through efficient and strategic outreach, Humanities Montana has reached all 56 counties. More than half of our funding benefits rural Montana, where other cultural funding is limited.

In the Flathead Valley, Humanities Montana has funded 42 programs in the last year. These programs include Montana history, poetry, Salish storytelling, ekphrastic poetry, poet laureate programs, the history and steps of community dance, innovative writing workshops in classrooms and more. In addition to programs, Humanities Montana has funded over $8,000 in community project and mini grants for youth music programs, artist talks, and the Northwest Montana Book Festival.  

Nothing about this work is wasteful. In fact, our state and country could benefit from more of this type of community building. The humanities help us understand each other better, engage in meaningful conversations, and find common ground. Sadly, stripping funding away from our communities will only make our divisions worse. The humanities have always been vital to overcoming difficult historical periods, and that is precisely what we are experiencing right now.

Please join us in protecting the arts, culture, and humanities in our state and country by contacting Montana’s U.S. senators and representatives, talking to your friends about why humanities matter to you, donating to our work, or finding creative ways to protect and support cultural programming. Investing in the public good, our communities, and our neighbors has always been a source of pride for Montanans. 

I remain hopeful that this tradition will hold. We are in this together.

Jill Baker is executive director of Humanities Montana.