Humane Decision Anticipated: Funding for Humanities North Dakota Might Return

In 2024, Humanities North Dakota hosted a talk by renowned author and podcaster, Kate Bowler, which signifies the organization’s continuing commitment to encourage art, culture, and civic education. The organization’s monetary outlook has now improved significantly, following a federal judge’s signal that the executive branch erred in its decision to rescind two years of humanities grants nationwide. The congress established National Endowment for the Humanities in 1965 to promote civic, arts, and cultural education across the United States, and among the 56 humanities councils that depend on this agency is Humanities North Dakota.

In the early part of April, a major setback occurred when the federal government retracted hundreds of millions in Congress-approved grant funding meant for these humanities councils for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, as per the court documents. National Endowment for the Humanities announced at that time its decision to divert its funding allocations towards a different direction to align better with the President’s new initiatives.

The funding cut meant a predicted loss of $600,000 grant for Humanities North Dakota, received for the fiscal year 2024. However, the organization managed to raise $300,000 in individual contributions, ensuring it remained operative, albeit with reductions in its programs due to the cancellation of the grant.

Michael Simon, District Judge from Oregon, in a recent order suggested that the executive branch’s decision to defund the humanities councils was illegal and would most likely be reversed in future. Simon’s ruling did not reinstate any of the withdrawn grant money, but it temporarily ceased the federal government from allotting it to other expenditures, according to the Federation of State Humanities Councils.

Brenna Gerhardt, the Executive Director of Humanities North Dakota, expressed positivity about the verdict, stating that they would now move forward to reinvigorate paused initiatives, re-establish connections with community associates, and make prudent fiscal decisions. These decisions would take into account the preceding instability and their enduring commitments.

The controversy over the grant cancellations is one among many triggered by the executive branch agencies responding to calls from the Department of Government Efficiency. Apart from the severe funding reductions, National Endowment for the Humanities laid off approximately 65% of their staff during the spring, as dictated by Simon’s order.

The decision of Simon came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils, one of its member, Oregon Humanities, against the Department of Government Efficiency and National Endowment for the Humanities. The plaintiffs claimed that the funding cancellation lacked any logical analysis and blatantly disregarded the councils’ congressionally mandated task of ensuring accessibility of humanities programs throughout the nation.

According to the plaintiffs, the National Endowment for the Humanities withdrew the grants because they perceived them as supporting topics like diversity, equity, and inclusion, accommodation for individuals with disabilities, and environmental justice. These are topics which President Donald Trump vowed to eradicate through an executive order he issued earlier.

Simon reasoned that such a move contrasted sharply with Congress’s intention for the utilization of the grant money from National Endowment for the Humanities. The federal law directly instructs the agency to support initiatives that particularly attend to scholars, and educational and cultural institutions that have traditionally been underrepresented while reflecting the diversity and richness of American cultural heritage.

Simon, in his order, noted the consequences of this move: disruption of funds affecting various causes, such as an Alaska-based Indigenous language conservation initiative, a terminally ill care department at an Ohio kids’ hospital and rural libraries in Oregon.

He expressed his concerns noting that due to the abrupt stoppage of funding, humanities programs nationwide, from the largest urban settlements to the remote rural areas came to a sudden standstill.

Phoebe Stein, the current president of the Federation of State Humanities Councils, applauded Simon’s order but expressed despair for the present underfunded status of humanities councils. This lack of funding has already generated substantial damage, resulting in staff layoffs and cancellations of essential programs.

The National Endowment for the Humanities made counterpoints in court documents indicating that federal rules provide them with the power to terminate grants unilaterally, if they believe that a grant isn’t matching with agency objectives.