This project will build a cultural center to provide services for the 19,000 Native Americans living in Tennessee. (There are no reservations in Tennessee to provide services.) It will also provide education for non-Native Americans about our culture. It will have a museum, library, exhibits and administration offices.
There are no Native American Reservations in Tennessee to provide job training/counseling, emergency, and social services for the 19,000+ Native Americans in Tennessee. NAIA is currently using a 1950s-era 4-room frame house for office space and a separate office in a nearby town for the job training/counseling staff, neither of which allows room for social, cultural or educational activities.
Building the cultural center will provide space to have all volunteers and staff in one location, as well as meeting rooms, a museum and library and room for exhibits of Native American crafts. This would also allow for tours by groups of school children and others.
This will provide a "home" for Native Americans and help us increase awareness of Native American cultures in Tennessee.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
