Living Language Grant Program FY2022

The Office of the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs, through OIED, is soliciting proposals from federally recognized Tribes listed as Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible to Receive Services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs at 86 FR 7554 (January 29, 2021) or Tribal Organizations as eligible for LLGP grants. Indian Tribes are referred to using the term “Tribe” throughout this notice. Tribal Organization is defined by 25 U.S.C. 5304(l). While only federally recognized Tribes or Tribal Organizations may apply for LLGP grants, grantees may select or retain for-profit or non-profit Tribal Organizations to perform a grant’s scope of work for grant funding to support Tribal programs to document Native languages or build Tribal capacity to create or expand language preservation programs. The LLGP will exclude as grantees BIE schools and BIE-funded schools or programs targeting students enrolled in those schools. The funding will focus on small or start-up programs whose objective is to document or build the capacity to preserve Native languages that are losing users, but which still have active users at the grandparent generation. The LLGP seeks to document, preserve, and revitalize languages that are used for face-to-face communication; languages that can be used by a child-bearing generation, but are not being transmitted to children; languages whose only active users are members of the grandparent generation or older; languages whose only active users are members of the grandparent generation or older but who have little opportunity to use them; and languages that serve as a reminder of heritage identity for an ethnic community, but which lack proficient speakers. These grants will be funded under a non-recurring appropriation of the BIA budget. Congress appropriates funds on a year-to-year basis. Thus, while some LLGP projects may extend over several years, funding for successive years depends on each fiscal year’s appropriations.  OIED administers this program through its Division of Economic Development (DED). The funding periods and amounts referenced in this solicitation are subject to the availability of funds at the time of award, as well as the Department of the Interior (DOI) and Indian Affairs priorities at the time of the award. Neither DOI nor Indian Affairs will be held responsible for proposal or application preparation costs. Publication of this solicitation does not obligate DOI or Indian Affairs to award any specific grant or to obligate all or any part of available funds. Future funding is subject to the availability of appropriations and cannot be guaranteed. DOI or Indian Affairs may cancel or withdraw this solicitation at any time.