Local arts, history programs react to funding cuts — Some programs find new funding sources
BUFFALO — Funding cuts to the federal agency that supports humanities programs throughout the country are poised to trickle down to Johnson County.
The Wyoming Humanities Council, which funds public humanities programs, announced in a news release in April that it was notified that its funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities had been canceled, effective immediately.
Federal funds account for $800,000, or 80% of the organization’s annual budget, according to its website.
The national program was founded in 1965, along with the National Endowment for the Arts. Nearly half of its budget is doled out directly to state humanities councils.
David Romtvedt, a Buffalo-based artist and author, is a former board member of Wyoming Humanities and has served as a humanities scholar for programs sponsored by the council. In that role, he attended programs funded by the nonprofit and wrote a report to inform leaders what public funds went toward.
In an interview, Romtvedt said that throughout the history of the federal arts and humanities agencies, there has been pushback from opponents who believe public funding should not be used in arts and humanities.
He is also the founder of Worlds of Music, a nonprofit whose mission is to promote community development through music, according to its website. Public funding has enabled the organization to offer free programs in local schools and around the community that wouldn’t otherwise be available, he said.
“Where this money goes farthest is in rural communities, which is almost entirely what Wyoming is,” Romtvedt said.
Shawn Reese, executive director of Wyoming Humanities, told the Bulletin in an email that its programs are paused for the foreseeable future. Some of its grants that are funded by the State of Wyoming will likely continue, he noted.
Reese said that the organization recently provided funding to a few Johnson County entities for various programs, including $2,000 for an exhibit at the Occidental Hotel’s museum called “Flappers to Fringe,” $350 for a Buffalo High School guest lecture by Sam Mihara, a survivor of Heart Mountain internment camp and $8,800 toward American Indian Interpreter interns and $1,575 for a program on the history of Native American languages at Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site.
Dave McKee, president of the Fort Phil Kearny/ Bozeman Trail Association, said that the internship program, which provided Indigenous college students with job experience and visitors with Indigenous perspectives of Wyoming history, will be funded this year by a private donor.
“Funding support from the Wyoming Humanities Council is critical for organizations across the state to develop and share history and cultural programs with our citizens and visitors,” he wrote in an email. “Preservation of our history ensures that current and future generations of our country are connected to their past, present, and future.”
The Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum also received $2,000 from the council for its Wyoming and World War II history conference. The museum also hosted a Smithsonian traveling exhibit called “Spark! Places of Innovation” in 2024.
Museum Director Sylvia Bruner said that the museum may also receive funding for a second Smithsonian exhibit titled “Many Voices, One Nation” to go with the county’s semiquincentennial celebrations next year, but funding cuts mean its fate is uncertain.
The museum has also been working on a reinterpretation of its Native American gallery through consultation with tribal representatives. The project was partly funded by an NEH grant that the museum was notified in early April would be terminated. Bruner said that the project is underway and the museum plans to continue the work. The Johnson County Commission appropriated a portion of its 1% sales tax funding at its April 15 meeting.
“We have a really good group of people involved in this, and I don’t want to lose that momentum and commitment,” Bruner said.
Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso said in a statement that while President Donald Trump is right to cut wasteful and duplicative spending in the name of American taxpayers, he understands “the important role that humanities programs and grants play in enriching our communities.”
“I will continue working closely with local organizations and museums to understand the impacts and ensure Wyoming has a voice at the table,” he said.
The Johnson County Library, the Johnson County Arts and Humanities Council and the nonprofit Arts Along the Bighorns each noted that they have not recently received funding from Wyoming Humanities or the NEH.
Some entities, such as the Bighorn Bluegrass Camp, receive funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, whose status, at this point, is uncertain under Trump administration cuts.
“I have respect for concerns that people have about how money is being used,” Bruner said. “I fully get that, and I’m big into transparency here. You can look at our information, it’s public information, and you can see that these funds were being used exactly for what they were intended for. I think that’s probably the case across communities.”
This story was published on May 1, 2025.