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National Endowment for the Humanities chair on new initiatives to grapple with America’s history

Shelly C. Lowe joins Washington Post Live on Wednesday, Jan. 18. (Video: The Washington Post)

Shelly C. Lowe, a member of the Navajo Nation, is the first Native American and only the second woman to lead the National Endowment for the Humanities. The agency is one of the country’s largest funders of humanities programs. Lowe joins Washington Post Live to discuss the NEH’s newest initiatives, the role of education in grappling with America’s history and her personal journey.

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Highlights

“We’re looking at supporting the cultural infrastructure, cultural heritage of the American country, of the American people to really highlighting work within that arena to teach civics education, to teach about our history and to really highlight all of the cultural wealth and knowledge that we have in this country.” – Shelly C. Lowe (Video: Washington Post Live)
“A lot of the work that we’ve been moving forward and encouraging is taking a look at under-told stories, those narratives that we just haven’t had as part of our national narrative. I always tell people, ‘We’re such a great country, we have such great stories, but we don’t always hear all of the different and diverse stories.’” – Shelly C. Lowe (Video: Washington Post Live)
“It’s important for us to understand that the humanities do give us a tool to understand… how the climate affects what we do in everyday life as human beings. Our cultural heritage, what happens to archives, what happens to collections when severe natural disasters happen. How do we really think about… creating resilient institutions that can focus on the longevity of our cultural heritage?” – Shelly C. Lowe (Video: Washington Post Live)

Shelly C. Lowe

Chair, National Endowment for the Humanities


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