The chickahominy indian tribe will build internal capacity among tribal citizens to reconstruct their language by creating a digital collection of resources and an accompanying professional…

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded the Chickahominy Indian Tribe $249,828 on September 1, 2026, under the Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services Program (CFDA 45.308) to build internal capacity for language reclamation among tribal citizens through the Renapew Reconstruction Collection.

The project delivers a digital collection of original language reconstruction guides, professional development workshops led by subject matter experts, and working sessions piloting the collection as a resource for community use. The tribe will recruit a cohort from the Powhatan Algonquian Intertribal Roundtable, which comprises representatives from all eight of Virginia's Algonquian tribes, to participate in workshops on language reclamation and receive resources and training to facilitate efficient use of the collection.

Performance occurs in Providence Forge, Virginia, with a period of performance running through August 31, 2028. The Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services Program supports Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages in sustaining heritage, culture, and knowledge through projects addressing preservation and perpetuation of languages and cultural practices, professional development of the museum workforce, and management and care of museum collections.

The chickahominy indian tribe will build internal capacity among tribal citizens to reconstruct their language by creating a digital collection of resources and an accompanying professional development track. Project activities will include curating the renapew reconstruction collection (RRC) with original language reconstruction guides, conducting a series of workshops led by subject matter experts to train a peer cohort on language reclamation, and working sessions piloting the RRC as a resource. The project will involve recruiting a cohort from the powhatan algonquian intertribal roundtable, which is comprised of representatives from all eight of virginia's algonquian tribes. The project will provide members of the renapew community with professional development and resources to facilitate their language reclamation efforts and ensure efficient and impactful use of the renapew reconstruction collection.