With federal funding cuts to the humanities, Smithsonian exhibits that come to Wyoming are in a holding pattern.
With the Many Voices One Nation exhibition, rural museums receive help from Smithsonian staff on how to build their own local exhibit telling their unique story.
The Homesteader Museum was hoping theirs would help bring people to Powell as part of America's 250th celebrations next year.
“I was gonna go from the perspective of why Powell and the Shoshone Irrigation project is a big important step of why we became part of America,” said Brandi Wright, the museum’s curator.
But Wright is unsure how the museum will get the funding for it after the Trump administration's recent cuts gutted Wyoming Humanities, which distributes the federal funds to local museums.
Wyoming Humanities told WPR they’re scaling back financial support for the exhibit program, but may still be able to provide some administrative support and potentially some state funds they receive.
“ I can't say for certain it will still happen. It's really, the conversation is now gonna be shifting from Wyoming Humanities to those organizations, whether they want to continue moving that forward,” Executive Director Shawn Reese said.
Reese estimates the nonprofit has already spent $13,000 towards the $50,000 it had intended to spend on the exhibit program.
“ I believe that the Smithsonian is willing to use the deposit that we've already made and apply it to these other communities if they continue to work with the Smithsonian,” he said.
The Meeteetse Museums, the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum in Buffalo and Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library had also applied to be part of the Many Voices, One Nation exhibit program.
Wright said she hopes the Homesteader Museum can still participate and is looking into other funding sources as they wait to hear more updates from Wyoming Humanities. Since 2004, the museum has hosted five Smithsonian exhibits in partnership with Wyoming Humanities.
Wyoming Humanities said two other upcoming Smithsonian traveling exhibits are on hold because of the federal funding cuts. One is called Voices and Votes and the other is an exhibit from the National Museum of the American Indian.
