Innovative Museum Design Unveiled with Exciting New Funding Opportunities

June 2025

Planning for the Eastern Shoshone Tribe's Cultural Hub is well underway to launch the capital campaign for fundraising officially, and the new website is nearing completion. 

Project Team members are excited to share the latest updates on the facility planning.  A community meeting was held in May in Fort Washakie with updates on the project and presentation of the 3D model of the building and the surrounding envisioned landscape. Architects behind the model, To Be Done Studio, were on site to help share the work behind the model and receive feedback from the community and tribal leadership.

The Eastern Shoshone Tribe is undertaking this significant project and has partnered with Grant Pro Group to spearhead fundraising initiatives crucial for its success. This collaboration has already yielded initial funding through several successful grant applications, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, which funded a Preservation Assessment in 2023 for both the Cultural Center and Archives, followed by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources Recording At Risk program that helped digitize more than 100 historic recordings in 2024. 

“These grants have been instrumental in establishing our dedication to this important project,” said Interim Director for the Eastern Shoshone Cultural Center, Robyn Rofkar, also a member of the Project Team. 

This funding established a basis for subsequent initiatives focused on language revitalization and cultural education, and preservation. From 2023 to 2024, the Tribe partnered with To Be Done Studio through the NEA Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design to produce the Hub’s conceptual design and physical model. A recent grant from the Mellon Foundation will support continued facility planning and site acquisition. 

The Wind River Development helped fund the fundraising website, and the Laura Jane Musser Fund awarded the Tribe $6,000 for the Rural Initiative Program. The National Endowment for the Arts Our Town grant helped support a comprehensive community

engagement initiative and continued architectural design phases for the Cultural Hub.

“These grants have helped give this project much-needed momentum,” said Shoshone Business Council Chairman Wayland Large.

The Project Team also recently completed a project with students from Harvard Kennedy School, which presented a Cultural Hub feasibility study as part of their National Building II course. 

Our latest grant comes from Enbridge, an “all-of-the-above” energy company with significant operations in Wyoming and across North America.  Enbridge recently pledged $5,000 for this Cultural Hub.  In 2024, they provided grants to the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and the Eastern Shoshone Tribe for additional youth activities.

“While we do not have operations directly on the Wind River Reservation, we are committed to being good neighbors and maintaining a positive relationship with members of the Eastern Shoshone,” said Michael Howe, Senior Advisor of Stakeholder Engagement for Enbridge.  “The Cultural Hub and youth activities are both very important, and we are honored that our support has been accepted by members of the Eastern Shoshone.”

The Project Team continues to seek grant funding and support from the community. For more information, email est@easternshoshone.org or call 307-332-3177 or 307-332-3532.

To Be Done Studio Architect Omar Hakeem shared the museum model with the community during the 65th Annual Eastern Shoshone Indian Days Powwow held June 27-29 in Fort Washakie.