DELTA REGION HERITAGE CORRIDORS AND HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CENTERS.

SEC. 1104. DELTA REGION HERITAGE CORRIDORS AND HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CENTERS. (a) Findings. —The Congress finds that— (1) in 1990, the Congress authorized the Institute of Museum Services to prepare a report assessing the needs of small, emerging, minority, and rural museums in order to identify the resources such museums needed to meet their educational mission, to identify the areas of museum operation in which the needs were greatest, and to make recommendations on how these needs could best be met; (2) the Institute of Museum Services undertook a comprehensive eighteen month study of such needs with the assistance of two advisory groups, surveyed 524 museums from throughout the Nation, held discussion groups in which rep-108 STAT. 4515resentatives of 25 museum groups participated, and conducted case studies of 12 museum facilities around the Nation; (3) on the basis of this assessment, the Institute of Museum Services issued a report in September, 1992, entitled, “National Needs Assessment of Small, Emerging, Minority and Rural Museums in the United States” (hereinafter “National Needs Assessment”) which found that small, emerging, minority, and rural museums provide valuable educational and cultural resources for their communities and contain a reservoir of the Nation’s material, cultural and historical heritage, but due to inadequate resources are unable to meet their full potential or the demands of the surrounding communities; (4) the needs of these institutions are not being met through existing Federal programs; (5) fewer than half of the participants in the survey had applied for Federal assistance in the past two years and that many small, emerging, minority and rural museums believe existing Federal programs do not meet their needs; (6) based on the National Needs Assessment, that funding agencies should increase support available to small, emerging, minority, and rural museums and make specific recommendations for increasing technical assistance in order to identify such institutions and provide assistance to facilitate their participation in Federal programs; (7) the Delta Initiatives Report made specific recommendations for the creation and development of centers for the preservation of the cultural, historical, and literary heritage of the Delta Region, including recommendations for the establishment of a Delta Region Native American Heritage and Cultural Center and a Delta Region African American Heritage and Cultural Center with additional satellite centers or museums linked throughout the Delta Region; (8) the Delta Initiatives Report stated that new ways of coordinating, preserving, and promoting the Delta Regions literature, art, and music should be established including the creation of a network to promote the Delta Region’s literary, artistic, and musical heritage; and (9) wholesale destruction and attrition of archeological sites and structures has eliminated a significant portion of Native American heritage as well as the interpretive potential of the Delta Region’s parks and museums. Furthermore, site and structure destruction is so severe that an ambitious program of site and structure acquisition in the Delta Region is necessary. (b) In General. —The Secretary, in consultation with the States of the Delta Region, the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Director of the Smithsonian Institution, the Lower Mississippi Delta Development Center, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and appropriate African American, Native American and other relevant institutions or organizations in the Delta Region, is further directed to prepare and transmit to the Congress a plan outlining specific recommendations, including recommendations for necessary funding, for the establishment of a Delta Region Native American Heritage Corridor and Heritage and Cultural Center and a Delta Region African American Heritage Corridor and 108 STAT. 4516Heritage and Cultural Center with a network of satellite or cooperative units. (c) Delta Region Native American Heritage Corridor and Cultural Center. — (1) The plan referred to in subsection (b) of this section shall include recommendations for establishing a network of parks, museums, and other centers to interpret Native American culture and heritage in the Delta Region, including a ten year development strategy for such a network. (2) Such plan shall include specific proposals for the development of a Native American Heritage Corridor and Heritage and Cultural Center in the Delta Region, along with recommendations for the appropriate Federal role in such a center including matching grants, technical and interpretive assistance. (3) Such plan shall be conducted in consultation with tribal leaders in the Delta Region. (4) Such plan shall also include specific proposals for educational and training assistance for Delta Region Native Americans to carry out the recommendations provided in the study. (d) Delta Region African American Heritage Corridor and Heritage and Cultural Center.— (1) The plan referred to in subsection (b) of this section shall include recommendations for establishing a heritage corridor or trail system, consisting of one or two major north-south routes and several east-west-spur loops to preserve, interpret and commemorate the African American heritage and culture in the Delta Region during all significant historical periods. (2) Such plan shall make specific recommendations for representing all forms of expressive culture including the musical, folklore, literary, artistic, scientific, historical, educational, and political contributions and accomplishments of African Americans in the Delta Region. (3) Such plan shall make specific recommendations for implementing the findings of the Delta Initiatives Report with respect to establishing an African American Heritage Corridor and Heritage and Cultural Center and related satellite museums in the Delta Region, together with specific funding levels necessary to carry out these recommendations and shall also include recommendations for improving access of small, emerging, minority or rural museums to technical and financial assistance. (4) Such plan shall be conducted in consultation with institutions of higher education in the Delta Region with expertise in African American studies, Southern studies, archeology, anthropology, history and other relevant fields. (5) Such plan shall make specific recommendations for improving educational programs offered by existing cultural facilities and museums as well as establishing new outreach programs for elementary, middle and secondary schools, including summer programs for youth in the Delta Region. (e) Grants.— (1) In furtherance of the purposes of this section, the Secretary is authorized to make planning grants to State Humanities Councils in the Delta Region to assist small, emerging, minority and rural museums selected on a financial needs basis in the development of a comprehensive long term plan for these institutions. The Secretary is also authorized to make implementation grants to State Humanities Councils in the Delta Region who, in consultations with State Museum Associations, shall make grants to small, emerging, minority or rural museums for the purpose 108 STAT. 4517of carrying out an approved plan for training personnel, improving exhibits or other steps necessary to assure the integrity of collections in their facilities, for educational outreach programs, or for other activities the Secretary deems appropriate including the promotion of tourism in the region. Such institutions shall be selected competitively and on the basis of demonstrated financial need. The Secretary is also authorized to make grants to State Humanities Councils to update, simplify and coordinate the respective State Works Progress Administration guides and to develop a single comprehensive guide for the Delta Region. (2) The Secretary is authorized to provide grants and other appropriate technical assistance to State Humanities Councils, State museum Associations, and State Arts Councils in the Delta Region for the purpose of assessing the needs of such institutions. Such grants may be used by these institutions to undertake such an assessment and to provide other technical, administrative and planning assistance to small, emerging, minority or rural institutions seeking to preserve the Delta Region’s literary, artistic, and musical heritage. (f) Music Heritage Program.— (1) The plan referred to in subsection (b) of this section shall include recommendations for establishing a Music Heritage Program, with specific emphasis on the Mississippi Delta Blues. The plan shall include specific recommendations for developing a network of heritage sites, structures, small museums, and festivals in the Delta Region. (2) The plan shall include an economic strategy for the promotion of the Delta Region’s music, through the participation of musicians, festival developers, museum operators, universities, economic development districts, and other relevant individuals and organizations. (g) Completion Date.— The plan authorized in this section shall be completed not later than three years after the date funds are made available for such plan.