Buder Center Receives Grant from National Endowment of the Arts

The Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies has been approved for a $20,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support Washington University 30th Annual Pow Wow. The area-wide event, scheduled for March 27-28, helps increase cultural awareness and contributes to the richness of St. Louis and the larger region.

The Pow Wow is in its 30th year and attracts over 3,000 dancers, singers, vendors, participants and guests locally & nationally. The center is among 1,073 projects across America totaling nearly $25 million that were selected during this first round of fiscal year 2021 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects funding category.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support this project from the Buder Center,” said Arts Endowment Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. “It is among the arts organizations across the country that have demonstrated creativity, excellence, and resilience during this very challenging year.”

Like other programming from the Buder Center, this year’s event will be virtual due to the pandemic. Director Kellie Thompson and her team emphasize the importance of creating space for virtual programming to highlight Native culture. For a year the Center has been doing just that, for example, the Digital Storytelling Project was funded to share stories of Indigenous people in Missouri and the three-part Native Futures, Native Voices speaker series, sponsored by the Gephardt Institute and the Alliance for Native Programs & Initiatives, offers Indigenous perspectives on a variety of topics.

“One of the hardest things about the pandemic within Indian Country is the feeling of isolation from our culture and communities. The Buder Center continues to be committed to providing innovative, creative and impactful ways to engage our students and Native community. The Buder staff and student led Pow Wow committee are grateful to be supported by the NEA and our other sponsors and donors to connect people with Native culture, art, drum and dance.” said Thompson.

For event or sponsorship information, visit the Buder Center website.