Wisconsin: Woodland Indian Arts Initiative

A Woodland Indian Arts Initiative grant supports the Oneida Nation Arts Program’s Music from Our Culture youth choir, which performs traditional and contemporary music. Courtesy of the Oneida Nation Arts Program

The Wisconsin Arts Board’s (WAB) longstanding commitment to serve the state’s 12 American Indian nations and other tribal communities is reflected in its Woodland Indian Arts Initiative. Through it WAB provides a foundation of cultural, economic and administrative support for Native American artists. The initiative features two grant programs—underwritten by state-tribal gaming compacts—that benefit the culture and communities of Wisconsin’s tribal residents. The Woodland Indian Arts Initiative Grant offers awards of $1,500-$4,000 to organizations, schools and units of tribal government that directly serve members of Wisconsin’s Indian communities through traditional or contemporary arts forms. It prioritizes funding to activities that provide structural support, such as presenting Wisconsin’s native artists, documenting their cultural production and knowledge, and providing them with technical assistance, professional development and other capacity building resources. The Woodland Indian Arts Individual Artist Award, meanwhile, recognizes Wisconsin Native American artists of exceptional talent with an unrestricted grant of $2,500. The goal of the award is to support fellows’ professional development and career advancement. For more information, contact WAB Folk and Traditional Arts Specialist Kaitlyn Berle.