Mission San Luis Endowment

FAIN: CZ-50079-05

Florida Department of State (Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001)
Bonnie G. McEwan (Project Director: February 2004 to June 2011)
Karin Stanford (Project Director: June 2011 to February 2014)

Endowment for archaeological research and public programming at Mission San Luis, an historic site of Spanish and Native American interaction from the early era of the European colonization of North America.

Mission San Luis is a National Historic Landmark owned by the State of Florida. It is co-managed by the Bureau of Archaeological Research and the Museum of Florida History within the Florida Department of State. For 20 years, humanities research and programming at the site have focused on contact-era Native Americans, Spanish colonizers, and the roots of the Hispanic American cultural tradition in the Southeast. The resulting blend of institutions and practices at Mission San Luis was characterized in part by cultural accommodation and ethnic diversity, coupled with legal and social protections regardless of ethnicity, gender, or status. These adaptations and principles resonate strongly with Americans three hundred years later. The Florida Department of State requests assistance from the National Endowment for the Humanities in creating the Mission San Luis Endowment Fund. NEH is asked to provide $1 million to be matched by $3 million in non-federal funds. The amount yielded annually will support new humanities research and increase the reach of educational programming at the site.