Long Live Louisiana
Preserving the past, impacting the present, and inspiring the future of our home
We all know education plays a vital role in shaping the future of our state. With partners across the state, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities’ essential programs provide students with the tools they need to succeed. Together, we create a lasting impact on Louisiana’s future.
Thanks to our supporters we’ve been able to offer transformative programs like the Institute for Louisiana Culture and History, which provides free classroom resources and hands-on training utilizing 64parishes.org. As one teacher shared, “This was the best workshop I’ve ever attended. The tools I’ve gained will transform how I teach.”
Support from people like you also keeps programs like Prime Time Family Reading thriving. Last year alone, Prime Time reached 1,400 families and distributed over 18,000 free books. As one principal put it, “Prime Time creates an excitement around literacy.”
You can find stories like these and more first-hand accounts of LEH’s impact below. We’re asking for your continued support of LEH and the programs that bring history, literature, and cultural inspiration to communities across the state.
Invest in Louisiana by giving to the LEH today. Your support will help preserve the past, impact the present, and inspire the future of our state. #LongLiveLouisiana
The Institute for Louisiana Culture and History empowers K-12 educators to bring Louisiana's rich history to life. Since its launch in 2023, 200 teachers have engaged in workshops, exploring new curriculum standards and tools such as 64 Parishes encyclopedia, impacting more than 90,000 students.
"History is sometimes about the difficult stories, the painful stories, and how we transcend that pain to achieve success as a nation.” — Dr. Brian Mitchell
Prime Time Family Reading strengthens families and communities through the humanities, fostering lifelong learning for children and families of all backgrounds.
By rallying educators and families, the program helps children develop critical-thinking skills and learn to share their ideas. Last year, Prime Time reached more than 1,400 families and distributed more than 18,000 free books, creating a lasting impact on literacy across Louisiana.
In 2024, LEH awarded $143,500 in Rebirth Grants to 31 nonprofit organizations across 13 parishes. These grants fund projects that preserve Louisiana’s cultural heritage through education, research, and public programs. At the Evangeline Parish Library, a Rebirth Grant brought local history into classrooms.
The Institute for Louisiana Culture and History empowers K-12 educators to bring Louisiana's rich history to life. Since its launch in 2023, 200 teachers have engaged in workshops, exploring new curriculum standards and tools such as 64 Parishes encyclopedia, impacting more than 90,000 students. "History is sometimes about the difficult stories, the painful stories, and how we transcend that pain to achieve success as a nation.” — Dr. Brian Mitchell
Prime Time Family Reading strengthens families and communities through the humanities, fostering lifelong learning for children and families of all backgrounds. By rallying educators and families, the program helps children develop critical-thinking skills and learn to share their ideas. Last year, Prime Time reached more than 1,400 families and distributed more than 18,000 free books, creating a lasting impact on literacy across Louisiana.
In 2024, LEH awarded $143,500 in Rebirth Grants to 31 nonprofit organizations across 13 parishes. These grants fund projects that preserve Louisiana’s cultural heritage through education, research, and public programs. At the Evangeline Parish Library, a Rebirth Grant brought local history into classrooms.
Cameron Parish has been battered by storms and threatened by change and development. For the spring 2023 issue of 64 Parishes, author Megan Poole returned to her home to document the ways of life that flourish, even under pressure, in this corner of the state. Long after the news crews had moved on, 64 Parishes helped to shine a light on the continuing struggles of this coastal community.
Hurricane Ida destroyed the southernmost Lafourche Parish Public Library branch and left its main branch inoperable. The damage left the library unable to reopen just when residents needed it most. A Disaster Mitigation Grant helped the library move to remote servers to provide residents access to the internet after an emergency to apply for housing and food assistance and submit claims.
Prime Time brings families together to read and discuss children’s books to create a foundation for learning by strengthening parents’ role as their child’s first and most important educator. With the goal of reaching parents where they are, Prime Time has increased its offerings for bilingual families such as those at Wildwood Elementary School in Baton Rouge, where a book is explored in English and Spanish.
Through The Helis Foundation John Scott Center, we strive to live out John T. Scott’s philosophy of “pass it on” by sharing his visionary approach to art, culture, and storytelling with the world. In addition to housing more than 50 of this Louisiana native’s works, the center serves as a community gathering space that integrates arts and humanities programming unlike any other space in the Gulf South.
The Institute for Louisiana Culture and History launched in 2022 as a statewide educational hub providing free, reliable Louisiana social studies resources for students and teachers. In addition to educator workshops, it supports the 64parishes.org encyclopedia with grade-level content aligned to the new state social studies standards and will add hundreds of new entries in the first three years.
Far beyond a static art space, the center serves as an interactive hub at the crossroads of art, culture, and social change. Earlier this year Young Audiences of Louisiana, a leading provider of arts education, joined us to present Baby ArtsPlay! The artist-led workshop guided young participants in an exploration of color, fine motor skills, and movement by referencing the sculptural works of John T. Scott.
The Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival showcases Louisiana’s unique culture. The recipient of a LEH grant, the 2023 festival celebrated the resilience of the people of Louisiana and their folk traditions. In addition to free performances and workshops, LEH grant funding also made possible a pre-festival event showcasing Louisiana fiddlers and musicologists and increased accessibility for the hearing impaired.
Dr. Daniel Gonzalez first began working with Prime Time nearly 20 years ago and has served as a scholar, storyteller, and trainer. While the conversations that follow a Prime Time book reading are spontaneous, the methods used to elicit them are not. Program leaders must undergo training to ensure they understand the method of using open-ended questioning to spur deep discussions.
“Four Women and their Languages” highlights personal stories of the language shifts of the Houma people through historical documentation, archival research, and personal narratives. Through 64 Parishes magazine, we meet four Houma women and see how each would have spoken, as well as how changes to their worlds affected what languages they spoke. Readers are also introduced to the Houma Language Project.
Cameron Parish has been battered by storms and threatened by change and development. For the spring 2023 issue of 64 Parishes, author Megan Poole returned to her home to document the ways of life that flourish, even under pressure, in this corner of the state. Long after the news crews had moved on, 64 Parishes helped to shine a light on the continuing struggles of this coastal community.
Hurricane Ida destroyed the southernmost Lafourche Parish Public Library branch and left its main branch inoperable. The damage left the library unable to reopen just when residents needed it most. A Disaster Mitigation Grant helped the library move to remote servers to provide residents access to the internet after an emergency to apply for housing and food assistance and submit claims.
Prime Time brings families together to read and discuss children’s books to create a foundation for learning by strengthening parents’ role as their child’s first and most important educator. With the goal of reaching parents where they are, Prime Time has increased its offerings for bilingual families such as those at Wildwood Elementary School in Baton Rouge, where a book is explored in English and Spanish.
Through The Helis Foundation John Scott Center, we strive to live out John T. Scott’s philosophy of “pass it on” by sharing his visionary approach to art, culture, and storytelling with the world. In addition to housing more than 50 of this Louisiana native’s works, the center serves as a community gathering space that integrates arts and humanities programming unlike any other space in the Gulf South.
The Institute for Louisiana Culture and History launched in 2022 as a statewide educational hub providing free, reliable Louisiana social studies resources for students and teachers. In addition to educator workshops, it supports the 64parishes.org encyclopedia with grade-level content aligned to the new state social studies standards and will add hundreds of new entries in the first three years.
Far beyond a static art space, the center serves as an interactive hub at the crossroads of art, culture, and social change. Earlier this year Young Audiences of Louisiana, a leading provider of arts education, joined us to present Baby ArtsPlay! The artist-led workshop guided young participants in an exploration of color, fine motor skills, and movement by referencing the sculptural works of John T. Scott.
The Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival showcases Louisiana’s unique culture. The recipient of a LEH grant, the 2023 festival celebrated the resilience of the people of Louisiana and their folk traditions. In addition to free performances and workshops, LEH grant funding also made possible a pre-festival event showcasing Louisiana fiddlers and musicologists and increased accessibility for the hearing impaired.
Dr. Daniel Gonzalez first began working with Prime Time nearly 20 years ago and has served as a scholar, storyteller, and trainer. While the conversations that follow a Prime Time book reading are spontaneous, the methods used to elicit them are not. Program leaders must undergo training to ensure they understand the method of using open-ended questioning to spur deep discussions.
“Four Women and their Languages” highlights personal stories of the language shifts of the Houma people through historical documentation, archival research, and personal narratives. Through 64 Parishes magazine, we meet four Houma women and see how each would have spoken, as well as how changes to their worlds affected what languages they spoke. Readers are also introduced to the Houma Language Project.