Trump administration’s latest federal cuts hit humanities funding in Idaho

Mia Maldonado, Idaho Capital Sun

BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) — The National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency, has abruptly cut funding for humanities projects in Idaho.

On Wednesday, the Idaho Humanities Council — alongside all other state humanities councils across the country — received a letter notifying it that its federal funding was cancelled, effective immediately. The letter is signed by the endowment’s acting chairman. 

“NEH has reasonable cause to terminate your grant in light of the fact that the NEH is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda,” the letter reads. 

The funding cancellation is a part of a wave to cut federal spending under the Trump administration. The move strips 75% of the Idaho Humanities Council’s budget, council executive director David Pettyjohn told the Idaho Capital Sun. In addition to reducing funds for salaries, administrative costs and outreach efforts, the federal funding cuts threaten grants for history, literature and art projects across the state. 

“This grant is a five-year grant, and we were just awarded it,” Pettyjohn said. “We receive funding each year, and last year it was about $930,000.”

Pettyjohn said the federal funding is incredibly important for Idaho, especially as it prepares to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary since the signing of the Declaration of Independence next year.

“We are uniquely positioned to bring Idaho together to discuss our past,” Pettyjohn said. “The humanities transcend politics. It is what brings us together. It is what helps us find common ground. We have been incredibly proud of our ability to successfully do that for over 52 years, and the cancellation of this funding puts that at severe threat.”

The role of the Idaho Humanities Council

Established in 1973, the Idaho Humanities Council is a nonprofit. It does not receive state funding, but relies on private funding and grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The national endowment is the largest public funder of humanities projects in the U.S., awarding $6 billion to humanities across the country since 1965. The federal agency supports museums, historic sites, universities, teachers, libraries, filmmakers, radio stations, scholars and other humanities programs. 

Between 2020 to 2023, the federal agency gave more than $5.7 million to the Idaho council and individual projects. 

With support from the federal funds, the council funded projects in 27 out of Idaho’s 44 counties in fiscal year 2024, ranging from projects highlighting veterans living in the Hagerman Valley, programs and exhibits at the Boise Art Museum, and speaker events across the state. 

Federal funding also allows the council to bring Smithsonian exhibits to Idaho. 

“It is something that only state humanities councils are able to do in partnership with the Smithsonian traveling exhibit service,” Pettyjohn said. “Most of us don’t have the opportunity to travel to D.C. and actually be at the Smithsonian, so in order for the Smithsonian to come to these communities, they have designed exhibits that fit in small spaces and it does not cost the community a thing.” 

This year’s exhibit was supposed to open in July in Burley, Moscow, Coeur d’Alene and end in Priest River. But now, those plans are now on pause — along with all other programs and grants — as the council is determining the validity of the letter, Pettyjohn said. 

“We have been completely compliant with everything NEH has asked of us in the last 52 years of our existence, and all of my fellow councils have been the same way,” he said. “This was really unexpected.”

Remaining grant cancelled for local professor leading Treasure Valley history project 

Rachel Miller, a history professor at the College of Idaho, received a letter on Thursday that the remaining funding for a history project she received in 2023 from the National Endowment for the Humanities was cancelled. 

For more than a year, Miller has led a project with the help of her students to create an oral history project called the “Voices of the Treasure Valley.” The goal of the project is to collect the stories of people who have lived in southwest Idaho and experienced its rapid change over the last few decades. 

“We are creating materials that will be available to everyone, and we are helping to build a state archive that represents recent history, which is maybe not always what we think of when we think of documenting Idaho’s history,” Miller told the Sun. 

Though she used most of the $25,000 in funding already, she said cutting projects like hers limits access to humanities, making them available only to those with a lot of resources. 

“This grant really made humanities education available to students who probably wouldn’t otherwise get it, and it really bolsters humanities programs at institutions that really need it,” Miller said.  

With the grant, Miller was able to give her students experience outside of the classroom, connecting them with community members who have witnessed historical change. The funding supported field trips, the hiring two student interns and the purchase of recording devices for high-quality audio. The grant also allowed Miller to compensate community partners who shared their time and expertise. 

“If we don’t support the humanities, I think we are saying something really destructive about our belief in the importance of getting to know each other as humans,” Miller said.