Program Guidelines 2024
About Supporting Indigenous Arts Mastery (SIAM)
SIAM: Supporting Indigenous Arts Mastery program is a grant supporting the programming partnerships between public and private colleges, including four-year colleges and two-year community colleges, and Tribes to support long-range Tribal artistic vibrancy. *SIAM is a term of respect, particularly for an elder with great cultural knowledge of the Coast Salish languages. SIAM is pronounced SEE-am.
Goals of SIAM
Grant applications should focus on supporting your visual arts program that engages with local Tribe(s) to promote culturally important art to the Tribe(s). Culturally important arts to the local Tribe are to be defined by the Tribe. Still, they could include traditional arts or other forms of visual art, for example, paintings, photography, or sculpture. Tribe or Tribes are to be federally or state-recognized Tribes and/ or First Nations from British Columbia within the geographic service area of the college. A goal of the funding is to establish a relationship in which the Tribe(s) can guide your program about the types of artistic expressions they value. We also hope to see sustainable relationships with the Tribes even after the grant cycle ends. Other values to be considered: Your institution will determine how to establish and maintain relationships with the Tribe(s). Your institution may identify the cultural arts of the Tribe(s) to be supported in the funding proposal. However, it should also consider other forms of visual arts that the Tribe(s) deems significant. Your institution will work with the Tribe(s) to support their visual arts goals, including collaborating with tribal artists and cultural arts practitioners, honoring intergenerational approaches to tribal arts, and actively listening to the Tribe(s).
Examples of the types of activities sponsored by SIAM
The Tribes should determine the forms of art they include - not a college. Tribal artist residencies from artists suggested by the Tribe(s). Engagement with master artists from the Tribe(s), or First Nations, Aboriginal (British Columbia institutions). College-Tribe(s) teaching/learning opportunities. On-campus events featuring lectures, workshops, and exhibitions of Tribally based artists in the program.
SIAM Grant Service Area
Public and private colleges and universities, including two-year and four-year schools, are in the following states and provinces: Alaska, Arizona, British Columbia, California (Southern), Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin.
About The House of Welcome
The House of Welcome Cultural Arts Center (formally, Evergreen Longhouse) is on The Evergreen State College Campus. The House of Welcome was the first longhouse building and program established on a U.S. college campus in the United States in 1995. The House of Welcome operates cultural arts programs from its base in Coast Salish territory, reaching across North America and around the Pacific Rim. In advancing the SIAM grant opportunity, the House of Welcome seeks to promote the arts and cultures of Tribes and the Pacific Rim Indigenous peoples through arts and public programming. The House of Welcome leads the SIAM grant program with support from The Evergreen State College Foundation. SIAM grantees will execute a grant agreement with the Foundation and receive grant funds.
About The Foundation
The Evergreen State College Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Since 1976, the Foundation has supported this goal by raising private gifts from our remarkable and generous donors. While public funds maintain the college, private gifts provide an additional margin of excellence through donor-funded scholarships, fellowships, program endowments, and other opportunities that enrich the Evergreen experience.
Grant Implementation Cycle for 2024
The grant is open now and will remain open until funds are spent, whichever comes first. Please review the instructions below on how to submit your proposal. Please let us know if you need further assistance. Before submitting their application, applicants can schedule a phone or email meeting with the SIAM Program Specialist at Mary.Kummer@evergreen.edu.
Available Funding in 2024
Up to $30,000 to $40,000 will be made available under this initiative. Applicants can submit multi-year (2-year) proposals with objectives, outcomes, and outputs broken down by year.
Application Period
Open NOW - Applications are reviewed in the order received while funding is available.
Grant Notification
Within 30 days of application.
Grant Period
Projects should last between 9 and 10 months, including time for final report stories. All grants must commence on or after January 1, 2024.
Grant Disbursement
Grants will be disbursed in one payment. For those organizations receiving multi-year grants, we seek a progress and expenditure report each year before the release of subsequent year payments.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible, an applicant must:
- Be a college or university that creates and develops public visual arts and cultural programs led by Tribes, offering dedicated arts and culture activities designed by the Tribes.
- Tribal colleges are not eligible for this funding.
- The institution must be an accredited public or private college.
- Only one application per college will be considered.
- Applicants must specify whether they are seeking one-year or two-year funding.
- Prior year funding does not guarantee funding for year two.
Eligible Costs
- Expenses related to the suggested tasks comprise:
- Contracts and or honorarium for Tribal artists.
- Supplies and materials and cost for arts activities indicated in the application.
- Meals and travel expenses for program workshops.
- Honorariums for cultural keepers supporting artists' cultural programs.
- May include goods and services, including facility rental fees.
- Minimal staff salaries and general operations costs are acceptable.
Exclusions
- Project activities that have begun before the application timeline.
- Projects focused on non-cultural or non-Tribal art.
- Projects focused on “Indigenous” arts broadly.
- College research projects.
- Individual faculty projects.
- Academic classes
- Fellowships, scholarships, student tuition or fees, theses, or dissertations.
- Fundraising.
- Political and/ or religious purposes.
Grant Review and Decision-Making Process
The following process is used to evaluate applications: The House of Welcome will convene a panel of grant reviewers consisting of House of Welcome staff and Tribal artists. Staff will review each application for completeness and eligibility. The grant review panel evaluates the applications and determines the level of funding and award recommendations. The House of Welcome will notify all SIAM grant applicants of award or denial by email, phone, or letter. All grantees will execute a grant and contract agreement with and submit an invoice to The Evergreen State College Foundation. All applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Specialist for feedback after the results have been released.
Notification of Awards
Notification will be sent in writing by email and by phone. Award recipients must complete an Evergreen Foundation grant and contract agreement. The contract to use will be provided.
Grant Amendments
We understand that some projects don’t go according to plan. If you anticipate a project will change from that initially outlined in your application, we ask that you keep us informed. Changes might include key personnel, project scope, timeline, expected outcomes and outputs, or budget changes.
Final Reports
Recipients are required to submit a final report documenting their completed project. The report should address the objectives identified in the application. It must be submitted by email to the House of Welcome before reapplying or seeking funding for a two-year grant. The report should include a detailed written narrative of the program outcomes, describing how the activities were met, and a final budget in spreadsheet format. Photos and video documentation of activities are encouraged.
Contact Information
For general information or further assistance, please contact:
Mary Kummer, Program Specialist (360) 692-9487 | mary.kummer@evergreen.edu