Preserve and Interpret Manzanar's Layers of History, Manzanar National HS | P18AS00469

Opportunity Information: Apply for P18AS00469

The grant opportunity titled "Preserve and Interpret Manzanar's Layers of History, Manzanar National Historic Site" is a National Park Service (NPS) project designed to broaden and deepen how Manzanar National Historic Site interprets its many historical narratives. The core emphasis is not just on producing materials or collecting information, but on building long-term, trust-based relationships with the people most connected to the site. The project is meant to engage Tribal communities, local residents, Japanese American communities, and other stakeholders in ways that lead to lasting appreciation, mutual understanding, and ongoing involvement in preserving and sharing Manzanar's history. In practical terms, the NPS is working through a cooperative arrangement with the Great Basin Institute (GBI), using GBI research assistants to help carry out community-centered outreach and documentation.

A key theme of the project is that its most important outcomes are intangible: trust, appreciation, and engagement. The NPS frames the work as relationship-building rather than one-time consultation, with a focus on strengthening ties to the next generation of the site's neighbors and stewards. This reflects an intent to increase local and Tribal capacity to participate in interpretation and preservation efforts over time, and to deepen commitments and collaboration with communities whose histories intersect with Manzanar and the Owens Valley region.

The project objectives outline a clear set of community engagement and documentation tasks. First, the team plans to reach out to 50 local stakeholders, specifically including members of several Tribal governments and communities: the Fort Independence Indian Community of Paiute Indians, the Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Lone Pine Community, the Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley, and the Bishop Paiute Tribe. Outreach also extends to other local residents in the nearby towns of Independence, Lone Pine, Big Pine, and Bishop. This outreach is structured to ensure that interpretation is shaped by local voices and lived experience rather than being developed solely from institutional perspectives.

To support meaningful oral history work, the project calls for creating a comprehensive list of oral history questions tailored to local contexts, and developing a 16-page oral history workbook intended for Tribal Elders. The workbook component signals that the project is not only about extracting stories for park use, but also about providing a tool that can support respectful, consistent, and culturally appropriate documentation. In addition, the project includes working closely with at least 10 individuals and/or families to preserve personal stories through oral history, ensuring that the effort results in detailed, first-hand accounts rather than only broad community input.

The opportunity also includes preserving and organizing historical materials by scanning archives and photographs that are loaned or donated. These digitization efforts can help protect fragile materials while also making them more usable for interpretation. Finally, the project will translate the collected stories and materials into public-facing outputs such as publications, interpretive media, and/or exhibits. Importantly, those products are to be developed as appropriate and as determined in collaboration with stakeholders and the NPS, reinforcing the idea that communities are intended to have a real role in deciding what is created and how their histories are presented.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding notice from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, using a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument and categorized under natural resources (CFDA 15.931). The eligible applicant type listed is a nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status, excluding institutions of higher education, but the notice explicitly states it is a "Notice of Intent to Award" and not a request for applications. In other words, it serves as public notification that the NPS plans to fund this work under an existing cooperative agreement with the Great Basin Institute rather than soliciting new proposals. The listed award ceiling is $100,000, and the posting date is September 3, 2018.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Preserve and Interpret Manzanar's Layers of History, Manzanar National HS" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.931.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 03, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD. This is NOT a request for applications. This funding announcement is to provide public notice that the National Park Service will fund the following project under an existing Cooperative Agreement with GBI. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $100,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for P18AS00469

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