Virginia Museum of History and Culture grants over $500,000 to 11 Virginia-based historical organizations

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The Virginia Museum of History and Culture has granted more than $500,000 to 11 Virginia-based historical societies, community centers, educational institutions and state-recognized Indian tribes through the largest sum ever granted through the Commonwealth History Fund.

According to the museum, the following were awardees of the fourth and largest grant cycle for the fund:

• Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center
• Historic Alexandria
• Historic Richmond
• Historic Staunton Foundation
• Historical Society of Western Virginia in Roanoke
• The JXN Project in Richmond
• Monacan Nation Cultural Foundation in Amherst County
• Pamunkey Indian Tribe in King William County
• Toano Historical Society in James City County
• Virginia Tribal Education Consortium in the town of Ashland in Hanover County
• WHRO Public Media in Norfolk

More than 80 applications were submitted, with requested funds totaling more than $5 million.

"Virginia Tribes will be the focus of several funded projects including a documentary about Native identity in the 100 years since the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act, an apprenticeship program to honor and preserve Monacan pottery and cultural traditions, and an exhibition focused on the voices of modern Indigenous people telling stories of westward expansion," said a museum spokesperson.

For more information on the fund, visit the museum's website.