NMWH Museum "12 Days of Christmas" Online Auction

The goal of this auction is to provide support for the continuation of the museum's Cultural Heritage Youth Workshops and School Assembly Project that aims to provide tools to students through diversity education to help them overcome prejudice and discrimination. The workshop and school assembly project will empower students to use conflict resolution techniques that in turn will diminish discrimination and teen violence in their schools and neighborhoods. The diverse cultures that are discussed in the workshops help build cultural sensitivity, awareness, understanding and respect. The program topics engage teachers, children and families in the exploration and appreciation of their own cultures and the diverse cultures of others.

The mission of the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum (NMWHM) is to offer the visitor a true and complete historical perspective of the people and activities that built the unique culture of the Old West, in particular the contributions of Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, European Americans and African Americans. By purposefully offering programming that educates youth and adults through cultural diversity programming, a closer connection to community, state and country is reinforced. The goal of the museum is that our visitors will share in the enjoyment of "a new vision" and leave with awareness that today's West came into being through the struggles and triumphs of diversity.

Founded on February 1, 2001, by Jim and Gloria Austin, the work of artists who documented the people and events of the time through journals, photographs and other historical items are part of its collection. These long-overlooked materials tell --perhaps for the first time-- the complete story of the American West. Located in a culturally diverse neighborhood in East Fort Worth, NMWHM offers a number of hands-on, interactive programs for school-age children. NMWHM is a center for learning about the historically unrecognized roles and careers pursued by people of color in the American West. The museum has developed into a neighborhood center known for inspiring, educating and supporting young people in our community; providing them the educational tools of knowledge they need so that they may be successful in the future, as well. Some of NMWHM's exciting interactive programs includes: Youth Cultural Heritage History Workshops and Assembly Project, National Day of the American Cowboy Celebration, Camp Buffalo Soldier Youth Program, and the Pam Grier Community Garden. The museum is a part of the White House Healthy Initiatives as a "Let's Move Museum!" and Let's Move Garden!" participant; hosting programming that educates youth and families about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle that reduces hypertension and diabetes in minority communities.

Key Accomplishments:

• Cultural Education Workshops and Museum Tours for school children in the form of "Weekly Cultural Heritage Workshops". Each workshop highlights cultural contributions to the development of the American West by people of diverse cultures. We are also proud that the teachers of Tarrant County Independent School District have welcomed this program. The museum has also been contacted by teachers from the Dallas Independent School District as well as various surrounding school districts interested in participating in the workshops and museum tours.

• Created new outreach program -- Traveling Youth Cultural Education Workshops. This project presents assemblies at schools that cannot come to the museum due to cost restrictions imposed on their budgets. This new program allows students the ability to continue receiving valuable education and helps the museum reach its educational goals in terms of the number of student participation and visibility of the programs sponsor.

• National Day of the American Cowboy Celebration featuring a free Western Heritage Symposium, Annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Hall of Fame Rodeo.

• Registered with the "Let's Move Museums and Let's Move Garden" Project.

• Created a Community Garden to help youth and the community focus on healthy eating and preserving natural resources.

• Partnered with area hospitals to host diabetes and hypertension awareness education to adults and children.

• U. S. Congressman Michael Burgess presented the Tuskegee Airmen who were unable to fly to Washington, DC with their Congressional Medals at the Museum.

• Registered as a Blue Star Museum

•The Museum partnered with the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show's Fort Worth Stock Show to present the museum's annual Cowboys of Color Rodeo, and has become a part of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo featured program.

Inner-city schools are facing financial challenges that are limiting their ability to take students to institutions that offer cultural enrichment and development. The museum programs take the workshops to the students and teachers through assemblies and classrooms where an even greater number of students might be reached. Teachers and students have expressed their desire to learn more about the "forgotten" cowboys, cowgirls and frontier families. The museum's program builds reading and writing skills; encourages students to use technology to enhance their researching skills; develops a healthy self-esteem, and teaches respect for diversity and inclusion. Students will learn about history and cultural contributions that are often overlooked in the history books and Hollywood movies. The workshop will encourage students to have a greater interest in history and "book reports". As far as we know, no other group or museum covers the broad scope of programs and diverse cultural contributions about the aforementioned groups that we highlight in the Weekly Cultural Heritage Youth Workshops. The workshop content has been developed to insure the state requirements for reading and writing proficiency skills are met. The workshop is facilitated by the museum's program coordinator and museum adult volunteers who are comprised of retired school teachers, principals and interested business leaders in the community.

Throughout the school year the museum offers weekly Cultural Heritage Youth Workshops for students. The workshops present historical presentations about the U. S. Buffalo Soldiers and the history the "Forgotten Cowboys and Cowgirls" of African, Mexican, Asian and Native American ancestry; American Indian culture and history; Hispanic customs and history and early frontier pioneers. These history lessons are brought to life and celebrated by presenting speakers who are historians, and working with local representatives from organizations such as the Buffalo Soldiers, Mexican Charros Association, Escaramuza (Spanish ladies side-saddle riding) Drill Team members, and the American Indian Education Program. The workshops are held at the Museum, currently on Wednesdays, at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Each workshop concludes with students touring the museum. Workshops are offered year round to schools that operate on a "year round" schedule, as well as home schools.

The museum has developed a "traveling" Cultural Heritage Youth Workshop presentation and artifact loan kits because of the increasing demand from schools seeking avenues to increase cultural awareness for their students. With rising cost of transporting students for field trips, many inner city under-served students are being denied the valuable experience of visiting the museum or attending the workshop. To meet this new challenge, the museum desires to upgrade its present website to add resource materials that students might download for research projects; add book and website resource lists; historical photographs, etc., to be used as an additional tool. The museum also desires to add additional resource materials to create an onsite "library corner" for students that come to the museum to do research and reports. As the museum accept more invitations from schools to present the workshop at school assemblies additional materials are needed to replenish the traveling exhibit kits and the loan kits. The website and resource material enhancements will increase the number of students that can take advantage of the workshop's value and also increase visibility for the workshop's sponsors.

It is important for youth to have a complete picture of this American history. Many events and people of minority groups the museum highlights have not been included in school text books. Programs such as this will not only educate the youth, but their family members and instill a strong measure of self-esteem by knowing that their ancestors played an important and positive role in history. Students will learn about history and cultural contributions that are often overlooked in the history books and Hollywood movies. The workshop will encourage students to have a greater interest in history and "book reports". This program will also enhance their reading and writing skills.

The workshop content was developed a retired school principal in conjunction with the museum's executive director to insure the state requirements for reading and writing proficiency skills are met. The materials have also been reviewed by a college history professor for historical accuracy.

The top three "pros" of this project are:

1. The workshops bring "history lessons to life" for young people. There are many youth who do not know that their ancestors (African, Mexican, and Indian) were involved in the settling of the western United States performing positive roles such as "cowboys", "lawmen", "homesteaders", "soldiers", "teachers", "storekeepers", etc.

2. The workshops will help build a healthy self-esteem and respect for their ancestors. The workshops teach self-reliance and promote diversity.

3. The workshops increase literacy skills, and promote writing and researching skills through this interesting and new subject matter; giving them an additional interest in history because they see themselves through people who "look like them" in positive roles other than slavery, savagery and laziness and other negative stereotypes as often portrayed on the westerns and comedy shows they have seen on TV, movies and news media.

The Cultural Heritage Youth Workshops and School Assembly Project aims to provide tools to students through diversity education to help them overcome prejudice and discrimination. The workshop and school assembly project will empower students to use conflict resolution techniques that in turn will diminish discrimination and teen violence in their schools and neighborhoods. The diverse cultures that are discussed in the workshops help build cultural sensitivity, awareness, understanding and respect. The program topics engage teachers, children and families in the exploration and appreciation of their own cultures and the diverse cultures of others.