GREAT FALLS – The C.M. Russell Museum has been awarded a $375,400 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in support of the upcoming permanent exhibition scheduled to open in late fall of 2008. The Bison: American Icon, Heart of Plains Indian Culture will examine the culture of the Northern Plains through the interactions of people with bison from 1750 to present. It will also allow the Museum to interpret and display its substantial collection of Plains Indian cultural artifacts for the very first time. The significant grant from NEH will allow for construction of the installation to begin almost immediately. The Bison will be installed in four galleries, including one brand new gallery space, located on the Museum’s lower level.
According to NEH, the Museum’s grant proposal stood out from others because of its “sound intellectual content, command of recent scholarship, and the excellent credentials of its team of advisory scholars.” Five out of five panelists evaluating the proposal rated it an excellent project, the highest recommendation given. NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. Created in 1965, NEH typically awards grants to cultural institutions, such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television, and radio stations, and to individual scholars.
In addition, The Bison has been designated a “We the People” project by NEH. The goal of the “We the People” initiative is to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture through the support of projects that explore significant events and themes in our nation’s history.
Opened in 1953, the C.M. Russell Museum’s mission is to collect, preserve, research, interpret and educate on the art and life of Charles M. Russell. In addition, the Museum also focuses on the art and lives of Russell’s contemporaries, as well as art that depicts the culture, life, and country of Russell’s West.
