Humanities North Dakota gets a lifeline, but at a fraction of its former funding

“This email did not come from a government account,” said Gerhardt, Humanities North Dakota’s executive director. “It came from a private Microsoft account, but it was sent by DOGE and signed by the chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities.”

Gerhardt says the loss of the $900,000 represents 80% of HND’s budget.

“The NEH has not been in contact with us since that time,” she added. “They’ve gone silent, and it’s deeply concerning, because Congress is supposed to set the budget. That’s why we have checks and balances. That’s really important.”

Humanities North Dakota is a non-profit organization that started in 1973. Like many other humanities organizations across the U.S., the elimination of funds follows President Donald Trump’s directive to slash federal funds to streamline the budget. Altogether, $65 million awarded to 56 humanities groups across the nation has been canceled. This has left museums, historical societies, libraries and cultural programs in a lurch.

“Every year, we serve tens of thousands of North Dakotans through a variety of programs and partnerships,” said Gerhardt. Humanities North Dakota’s staff has four full-time and two part-time workers, who generate a number of courses and outreach projects.

“We have a weekly newspaper column written by a constitutional scholar that helps educate people. We have Dakota Datebook on Prairie Public, and then we have online classes and events, as well as in-person events that we host throughout the state.”

These offerings give North Dakotans continued access to educational opportunities, “because democracy demands thoughtful and informed citizens,” Gerhardt said.

In late April, the Mellon Foundation announced it was providing a $15 million emergency funding grant to the Federation of State Humanities Councils to help offset the loss of federal funding. That’s provided $200,000 to Humanities North Dakota. Private donors have contributed an additional $100,000. Through online donations, HND Humanities can also receive up to $50,000 in matching funds from the Mellon Foundation.

Gerhardt told Buffalo’s Fire that she’ll keep pursuing grants. “I’m hoping that will expand our donor base and my access to large foundations, because North Dakota doesn’t have the philanthropic environment that more densely populated states enjoy. So it’s going to be a challenge, but it’s one that we’re up for.”

With only about a third of its original funding, Humanities North Dakota says it’ll keep fighting to keep the lights on and make a wide variety of scholars available to its audience. Last year, courses and events reached 24,000 people.

One of the more popular courses is taught by Michael Barthelemy, director of Native American Studies at Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College in New Town, North Dakota. “History, Culture, and Customs of the Nueta and Hidatsa: A Case Study into Native America” is a 16-week class that Barthelemy teaches remotely from home.

Gerhardt said 150 people have taken the course. “Just the sheer amount of students that we had sign up for the course was really revealing in that this is a topic that people care about,” he said.

On any given week, Barthelemy figures he has a core of 40-60 students. But those who miss a class can log in to Humanities North Dakota and watch archived videos.

“We’re talking a lot about history, culture and customs, so we’re reorienting the lens around an Indigenous perspective,” said Barthelemy. “And this is kind of a big reason why the creation of Native American studies as a field occurred…it’s really the wedded relationship between history, anthropology, archeology, geography, with the interjection of Indigenous oral history and perspective.”

It’s Indigenous history and perspective that’s given Barthelemy a positive outlook, in spite of the turmoil and disruption caused by the Trump administration. While he acknowledges there’s uncertainty in terms of projects and other initiatives down the line following the funding cuts, being a historian helps him cut through the dour narrative that things have never been so bad.

“Maybe it’s because I am the descendant of people who lived through everything,” said Barthelemy. “But I’m incredibly optimistic. I think we’re going to be OK. I think that we’ll get through it, but it’ll be only through our labor that things will change, things will happen.”

Meanwhile, North Dakota House Rep. Karla Rose Hanson said she tried in committee to bump up the amount of a proposed state grant for Humanities North Dakota’s “We the People” program — from $70,000 to $180,000 — to help offset the loss of federal funds. She was unable to get that increase approved. As someone who’s enjoyed many of the organization’s programs, she said, she was “deeply disappointed” with the cuts announced in April.

Alex Finken, the state communications director for U.S. Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota, told Buffalo’s Fire that they’ve been in touch with Gerhardt and have contacted the National Endowment for the Humanities and Senate Appropriations Committee for additional information.

Gerhardt said Humanities North Dakota will continue the fight and may join a lawsuit with other affected organizations. “If we allow this defunding to stand, we’re sending a message that truth doesn’t matter, free thought isn’t worth public investment.”

On the contrary, she said, “We believe all Americans deserve access to their history and to their civic story.”