Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS NOIP19AC00173
The Tribal Perspective Travel Guide for the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail (LECL) grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: NPS NOIP19AC00173) was a discretionary National Park Service funding program under the U.S. Department of the Interior designed to support a multi-year project focused on elevating tribal voices and improving how the public experiences the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. The central idea was to increase public awareness, understanding, and access to tribal histories, perspectives, and present-day communities connected to the Trail by developing travel-oriented information and experiences that are guided by tribes themselves rather than filtered solely through non-tribal historical narratives.
The project emphasized tourism as a practical way to connect visitors with tribal stories while also benefiting tribal communities. The National Park Service intended this effort to identify and highlight tribal tourism opportunities for travelers, improve both the quantity and quality of visitor experiences along the Trail, and make tribal perspectives more visible and accessible to the public. In other words, the program aimed to help travelers find authentic, tribally informed points of interest and experiences, while also strengthening the overall visitor experience by adding depth, context, and living cultural connections that are often missing from conventional Trail tourism.
A major goal was community and economic development that remains compatible with cultural preservation. The opportunity explicitly sought to empower tribal communities along the Trail to expand tourism and recreation in ways that can spur local economic development, increase jobs, and grow tourism revenue, while still protecting cultural heritage. That framing signals that the project was not only about producing a guide or outreach product, but also about supporting tribally led decision-making around what stories are shared, how they are presented, what locations or experiences are appropriate for visitors, and how tourism can be structured to respect cultural protocols and community priorities.
The award was offered as a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates substantial involvement by the federal agency during the project, such as collaboration on planning, review, coordination, or implementation. The funding activity categories listed included community development, regional development, and research and development, reflecting that the work was expected to combine practical tourism development with planning, coordination, and potentially research or evaluation related to visitor access, interpretation, and experience design. The CFDA number associated with the opportunity was 15.935.
Eligibility was limited to Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments, meaning the intended applicants were tribal nonprofits or tribal community organizations rather than tribal governments applying directly. The opportunity anticipated a single award (Expected Awards: 1), with an award ceiling of $335,000, suggesting a focused, centralized project rather than multiple smaller grants distributed across many recipients.
Timing-wise, the opportunity was created on May 17, 2019, with an original closing date of May 27, 2019, indicating a short application window. Overall, this funding opportunity was aimed at producing a tribally informed travel guide or comparable tourism-access product and related work that strengthens public access to tribal perspectives along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, while simultaneously supporting tribal economic opportunities and protecting cultural heritage through tribally guided tourism and recreation development.Apply for NPS NOIP19AC00173
- The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the community development, regional development, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Tribal Perspective Travel Guide for Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail- LECL" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.935.
- This funding opportunity was created on May 17, 2019.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 27, 2019. (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 $335,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments).
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the Tribal Perspective Travel Guide for the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail (LECL) grant opportunity?
It was a discretionary National Park Service (NPS) funding opportunity under the U.S. Department of the Interior focused on a multi-year project to elevate tribal voices and improve how the public experiences the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. The project centered on creating travel-oriented information and experiences guided by tribes, with the goal of increasing public awareness and access to tribal histories, perspectives, and present-day communities connected to the Trail.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON) for this program?
The Funding Opportunity Number was NPS NOIP19AC00173.
Who administered this grant program?
The program was run by the National Park Service (NPS), within the U.S. Department of the Interior.
What was the main purpose of this opportunity?
The purpose was to make tribal perspectives along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail more visible and accessible to the public by developing tribally guided travel information and visitor experiences. The intent was to help travelers find authentic, tribally informed points of interest and experiences while adding living cultural context that is often missing from conventional Trail tourism narratives.
How did the program define the role of tribes in telling Trail-related stories?
The program emphasized that travel-oriented information and experiences should be guided by tribes themselves rather than filtered solely through non-tribal historical narratives. This framing supports tribally led decisions about which stories are shared, how they are presented, and what locations or experiences are appropriate for visitors.
What kinds of outcomes was the project trying to achieve for the public?
The project aimed to increase public awareness, understanding, and access to tribal histories and perspectives connected to the Trail. It also aimed to improve the quantity and quality of visitor experiences by adding depth, context, and present-day cultural connections through tribally informed tourism content.
Why did the opportunity emphasize tourism?
Tourism was presented as a practical way to connect visitors with tribal stories while also benefiting tribal communities. The effort intended to identify and highlight tribal tourism opportunities for travelers and strengthen the overall visitor experience along the Trail.
Was this opportunity only about creating a travel guide?
No. While it focused on producing a tribally informed travel guide or comparable tourism-access product, it also emphasized broader, tribally guided tourism and recreation development. The opportunity highlighted planning and decision-making about visitor access, interpretation, and experience design in ways that respect cultural protocols and community priorities.
How did the grant connect tourism development with cultural preservation?
A major goal was community and economic development that remains compatible with cultural preservation. The project sought to support expanded tourism and recreation that could spur local economic development, increase jobs, and grow tourism revenue, while still protecting cultural heritage through tribally guided choices about what is shared and how it is presented.
What type of award was offered?
The award was offered as a cooperative agreement.
What does it mean that the award was a cooperative agreement?
A cooperative agreement typically indicates substantial involvement by the federal agency during the project, such as collaboration on planning, review, coordination, or implementation.
What were the funding activity categories associated with this opportunity?
The listed activity categories included community development, regional development, and research and development. This suggests the project was expected to combine practical tourism development with planning, coordination, and potentially research or evaluation related to visitor access, interpretation, and experience design.
What CFDA number was associated with this funding opportunity?
The CFDA number associated with the opportunity was 15.935.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was limited to Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments. In other words, the intended applicants were tribal nonprofits or tribal community organizations, rather than tribal governments applying directly.
How many awards were expected?
The opportunity anticipated a single award (Expected Awards: 1).
What was the maximum funding amount available?
The award ceiling was $335,000.
When was the opportunity created and when did it close?
The opportunity was created on May 17, 2019, and the original closing date was May 27, 2019.
How long was the application window?
Based on the posted dates (May 17, 2019 to May 27, 2019), the application window was short.
Was the project described as short-term or multi-year?
It was described as a multi-year project.
What geographic or thematic area did the project focus on?
The project focused on tribal histories, perspectives, and present-day communities connected to the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.
What kinds of visitor-facing improvements did the opportunity aim to support?
The opportunity aimed to improve both the quantity and quality of visitor experiences along the Trail by making tribally informed points of interest and experiences easier to discover and by enriching public understanding with tribal perspectives and living cultural connections.
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