Revisiting Our Shared History

The summary for the Revisiting Our Shared History grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the National Park Service, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Revisiting Our Shared History: This Funding Announcement is not a request for applications. This announcement is to provide public notice of the National Park Service (NPS), intention to fund the following project activities without competition.

ABSTRACT
Funding Announcement
Project Title Revisiting Our Shared History
Recipient City of Nome
Total Anticipated Award Amount $28,000
Cost Share 0.00
Anticipated Length of Agreement 1 year
Anticipated Period of Performance April 1, 2016 - March 31, 2017
Award Instrument Cooperative Agreement
Statutory Authority 54 U.S.C. §101702(a) Cooperative Agreements, Transfer of Service Appropriated Funds
CFDA # and Title 15.946-Cultural Resource Management
Single Source Justification Criteria Cited
Point of Contact Andrew Tremayne


OVERVIEW

The goal of this project is to make approximately 70 interviews recorded on both shores of the Bering Strait Region in 2000, and other documents and images from the era of reunification between the US and the USSR, available to a wider audience. This proposal has two phases. The first is to review, reorganize, summarize, package and distribute all interviews and images for archival purposes to the appropriate entities. The second is to produce at least six digital audio-slideshows on differing themes, and a physical museum exhibit on the period of reunification, as a permanent/temporary or traveling exhibit for Nomeâ¿¿s Carrie McLain Memorial Museum, and any other interested venues, such as the Provideniya Museum in Chukotka, Russia.

In the year 2000 the primary researcher and producer of this project conducted 70 interviews with native Alaskans and Russians about what the period of reconnection meant to them, and what they felt the value was in maintaining an open border. The period marking the end of the Cold War between the United States and Russia was one of great joy and excitement. Native families from Alaska and Russia that were separated by the political boundaries for decades were finally able to reconnect, share stories, exchange ideas, and celebrate their cultures together. The period of happiness between the United States and Russia however was short-lived and after about 10 years of solidarity the Russian government again began to crack down on the travel and exchange of humanitarian supplies. For many there was again a loss of a dream of reunification.

This cooling of international relations prompted the City of Nome to apply for a Shared Beringia Heritage Program grant in 1998 to record interviews with people on both sides of the Bering Strait about what that period of reconnection meant to them. She interviewed native and non-native people alike. She interviewed Elders, men, women, children, hunters, teachers, and anyone who wanted to share their stories. The City of Nome collected information on a wide range of topics related to all the changes at that time, from learning how to re-hunt whales from small boats in Chukotka, to how the people of Diomede were surprised to find themselves at the center of world attention, rather than at its farthest edges. A small grant from the Alaska Humanities Forum, allowed her to hire a Russia translator to translate the interviews in Russian and transcribe them in English.

As the US and Russia continue to slide towards a new Cold War, nearly 25 years after the border opened, it is timely that this period of reunification, reconnection and friendship in the Beringia Region be highlighted and remembered. There is great interest today in the Arctic and Beringian cultures of Alaska and Russia. The families that were separated during the Cold War and reunited afterwards are still working to stay connected despite the logistical and political obstacles they are confronted with. The documentation and stories that were collected by the City of Nome have great potential to influence political relations today fostering greater awareness and a desire of these isolated communities to remain part of each otherâ¿¿s lives. The researcher and producer of the original project collected much more information than she was able to disseminate at the time of her original award. As such, her goal is to revisit these interviews and archival footage to re-order them into a public displays, museum exhibits, and audio-slideshows that can be widely distributed and made available to the public in Alaska and Russia alike.

Support for this project comes from the City of Nome, the Carrie McLain Museum, and with Russian partners such as Igor Zagrebin of the Provideniya Museum. The primary goal of the project is to make the interviews and other documents from the era of reunification available to a wider audience, both as archival reference materials and through production of a number of audio slideshows, and the development of a traveling museum exhibit. The Berlin Wall came down as our Ice Curtain was melting. It is not likely that that wall will ever be rebuilt, and yet there is a significant chilling between the US and Russia that is again being felt in the Bering Strait Region. It is imperative that we not forget the excitement of discovering that what we had in common with each other was far greater than the politics that divided us. This truth benefits not only the people of Beringia, but all of humanity. These stories deliver this discovery in a very human and personal way, with the power to reach not just minds but hearts. And if we cannot change the course of events, we can at least remember and celebrate a wondrous time in history when the unimaginable became a gleeful reality. This project will provide Alaskans, and the general public an opportunity to learn more about these stories either through a museum setting or by accessing the materials online through the Shared Beringian Heritage Program website.


STATEMENT OF JOINT OBJECTIVES/PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

The joint objectives of this project are to share the 70 interviews conducted between 1998-2000 more broadly with the public.

RECIPIENT INVOLVEMENT
The City of Nome will organize collected interviews, complete transcription of audio interviews conducted between 1998-2000, catalog the interviews, complete audio slideshows and create a traveling exhibit.


NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INVOLVEMENT
1. The National Park Service, Shared Beringia Heritage Program will Act as liaison with the partner and possible individuals or groups in the Beringia region that may be interested in the project or have material they would like to contribute.
2. Utilize the Beringia Programâ¿¿s contacts in Alaska and Russia (especially in Native communities) to inform communities and organizations about the project. Assist with the dissemination of information working with local park units to post information, and share project activities and outcome on the NPS Shared Beringian Heritage Program website and Alaska National Parks Facebook page.

3. Use the network of contacts, the program website, and the Alaska National Parks Facebook page to share information from the final report with the public, as well as with targeted audiences through the development of a project-specific distribution plan. First and foremost it will be targeted toward the communities in the Bering Strait region.




SINGLE-SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
SINGLE SOURCE POLICY REQUIREMENTS

Department of the Interior Policy (505 DM 2) requires a written justification which explains why competition is not practicable for each single-source award. The justification must address one or more of the following criteria as well as discussion of the program legislative history, unique capabilities of the proposed recipient, and cost-sharing contribution offered by the proposed recipient, as applicable.


In order for an assistance award to be made without competition, the award must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

(1) Unsolicited Proposal â¿¿ The proposed award is the result of an unsolicited assistance application which represents a unique or innovative idea, method, or approach which is not the subject of a current or planned contract or assistance award, but which is deemed advantageous to the program objectives;

(2) Continuation â¿¿ The activity to be funded is necessary to the satisfactory completion of, or is a continuation of an activity presently being funded, and for which competition would have a significant adverse effect on the continuity or completion of the activity;

(3) Legislative intent â¿¿ The language in the applicable authorizing legislation or legislative history clearly indicates Congressâ¿¿ intent to restrict the award to a particular recipient of purpose;

(4) Unique Qualifications â¿¿ The applicant is uniquely qualified to perform the activity based upon a variety of demonstrable factors such as location, property ownership, voluntary support capacity, cost-sharing ability if applicable, technical expertise, or other such unique qualifications;

(5) Emergencies â¿¿ Program/award where there is insufficient time available (due to a compelling and unusual urgency, or substantial danger to health or safety) for adequate competitive procedures to be followed.


NPS did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria:

This project was originally solicited in the 2015 year under the Shared Beringia Programâ¿¿s 2016 Call for Proposals.