CSUSB-Palm Desert indigenous education grant defunded under Trump administration
PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) -- A nearly $150,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant awarded to California State University, San Bernardino Palm Desert Campus has been revoked under the Trump administration.
According to university officials, the NEH grant awarded $149,935 for the "Inland Echoes: Empowering Inclusive Histories of California's Inland Empire and Coachella Valley in K-16 Education," project.
Grant writer and assistant professor at CSUSB, Michelle Lorimer, said they chose to spotlight local tribes to give students a sense of pride on where they came from.
"Really what it's about is having a sense of belonging and wanting to make where you live a better place for yourself and for the future, and that's through understanding the importance of the history that was already here," Lorimer said.
She tells News Channel 3 her team was overjoyed once it was awarded, telling News Channel 3 NEH grants are extremely competitive, and that one has an acceptance rate of just 19%.
However, after the grant contract was signed, CSUSB-PDC officials say they received a notice that it was defunded because it didn't align with the administration's education goals and was apart of DOGE cuts. Professors say to their knowledge, multiple NEH awards have now been defunded.
"They said our project and similar projects at NEH didn't align anymore with the priorities of the administration. So that was devastating," Lorimer said.
In a letter shared with News Channel 3, federal officials said, "NEH has reasonable cause to terminate your grant in light of the fact that the NEH is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda. The President’s February 19, 2025 executive order mandates that the NEH eliminate all non-statutorily required activities and functions."
If it had gone through, the project planned to include hands-on workshops and lesson plans for teachers on local indigenous communities. The goal was for local teachers to then incorporate that education into their K-16 classes.
Professors say they believe it was targeted because of it's inclusive language.
The New York Times has reported that NEH funding is now being redirected to President Trump's National Garden of American Heroes.
Now, officials don't know where to turn and doubt any scholarships will bring in the same amount of money as NEH.
"There's been, for a very long time kind of culture wars over history education in the United States. However, what is currently happening now is totally unprecedented," Michael Karp said.
