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Arkansas Global Programs

Southwest Minorities Cultural Heritage Project

SWMCHP is a two and a half year project (9/1/07-12/31/09) whose goal is to orient and train cultural heritage experts on the protection and preservation of minority heritages in western Sichuan Province, PRChina. Professional participants come from the three autonomous prefectures in Sichuan: A Ba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Region; Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Region; and Liangshan Yi Autonomous Region.

These regions have unique minority peoples and cultural heritages that are endangered by several important factors: cultural heritage work lags behind the rest of China in technique, personnel, and resources; population is increasing causing assimilation; there is rapid economic development in these regions; and the recent earthquake in Sichuan has taken a toll on the peoples there, especially the Qiang and Tibetans.

All these pose serious issues for the survival of these heritages. This project will orient and train a select group of professional cultural heritage experts from the region who can make a difference through their initiatives for protecting and preserving these cultural heritages. It will also bring together U.S. and Chinese colleagues who have mutual goals in a project that is: responsive to local communities; focuses on the balance between economic development and the protection and preservation of cultural heritage; and is respectful of cultural diversity and national identity in China.

It models its activities after the successful Local Chinese Culture & Heritage Project (LCCHP) and focuses training on:

  1. the nature, environment, and operations of leading American organizations and institutions involved in cultural heritage activities,
  2. activities of the above for educating locally based community and cultural heritage organizations in effective organizational management, public outreach, and good governance of cultural heritage organizations and institutions, with a focus on youth outreach and educational activities, heritage tourism and economics, cultural mapping, stakeholder participation, and volunteerism, and,
  3. resource and sustainability.

The project will also show how Americans value and support equality and diversity and promote citizen participation through community service and volunteerism.

Key partners in the U.S. are the Arkansas State Department of Heritage; UALR History Dept. and Public History Program; the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, and the Arkansas Archaeological Survey who are providing orientation and training to participants. Collaborative partners include the Historic Arkansas Museum, MacArthur Museum; Arkansas Museum Association; the William J. Clinton School of Public Service; and the Smithsonian Museums. The China Coordinator is the Sichuan University Museum, Archaeology Dept., and College of History & Culture.

SWMCHP is funded by the U.S. Department of State.