For thirty-five hours each week at the Klukwan Library, people study, check out books, and take workshops on everything from paddle making to Chilkat weaving.
Or at least they used to. The Trump administration recently notified the tribal library that it was canceling two grants that account for the vast majority of its budget. That left the staff no choice but to cancel all future events – and dramatically reduce their hours.
“The letter said that our grant is, unfortunately, no longer consistent with the agency’s priorities, and no longer serves the interest of the United States,” said Jamie Katzeek, the library’s co-director.
The money comes from an agency known as the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provides funding to communities across the country, including libraries in Native villages. In Alaska alone, the agency awarded library-related grants to dozens of tribes over the last two years.
But President Donald Trump signed an executive order in mid-March aimed at eliminating the agency. It dubbed the IMLS, along with six other federal entities, “unnecessary” elements of the federal government. The agency’s leadership later told staff that all of them would be put on leave – and that most, if not all, grants and contracts would be terminated.
Two lawsuits, but little clarity
It’s not yet clear how widespread the cancellations are across Alaska or the U.S. But Theresa Quiner, the president of the Alaska Library Association, has reached out to libraries on the association’s statewide listserv to ask whether and how they’ve been affected. Based on what she’s heard so far, she said it’s clear the cancellations aren’t limited to Klukwan.
“My perception is that most people who are Native American Library Services grant recipients, I have a feeling that most libraries have gotten the cancellation notice at this point,” Quiner said.
The ordeal is further complicated by two lawsuits – and partial wins for plaintiffs. In one case, a federal judge ordered IMLS to resume processing payments to grantees in the 21 states involved. Alaska was not among them.
In the other lawsuit, a judge issued a temporary, nationwide order against further actions to dissolve the agency – including pausing or cancelling IMLS grants. But that order only stops grant cancellations after May 1.
Still, several libraries say they have received no communication that their grants would be reinstated. That includes the Tuzzy Consortium Library in Utqiaġvik, which received IMLS funding in 2024.
“I haven’t had a response yet from IMLS,” Teressa Williams, the library’s director, said in an email on May 16. “I’m hoping they will abide by the judge’s decision and notify libraries soon.”
The IMLS did not respond to requests for comment made via phone call or email.
Library hours go from 35 to 4 in Klukwan
The grant cancellations have hit the Chilkat Indian Village in Klukwan especially hard. In 2023, the tribe was awarded a two year grant – called an enhancement grant – of nearly $150,000. The money helped fund a project that aims to both reclaim and sustain traditional knowledge.
The tribe also received a much more common, $10,000 basic grant, in 2024, which can be used to pay for staff hours and other budget items.
But by early April, Klukwan Library’s large grant was canceled even though the library still had nearly $100,000 to spend. Three weeks later, the smaller one was terminated, too. That left the library with just one source of funding: an annual $7,000 grant from the state that’s set to wind down next month.
That means Katzeek will work four hours per week until the end of June. She said she will likely use that time ensuring the library spends down the rest of the state grant according to their application.
The result is that the library will no longer be able to offer programming and events meant to preserve traditional knowledge – or provide library services to students and other community members during the weekdays and weekends.
“The biggest loss is probably the programming that we offered. We would partner with other organizations and offer instructors for paddle making, moccasin making, beading, Chilkat weaving,” Katzeek said. “A lot of those programs were important to the people that live here in Klukwan, even people from town.”
The cancellations also threaten the library’s ability to apply for the state grant in the next round, given that it typically uses federal funds to meet a state matching requirement.
“That basically makes us ineligible to apply for the next PLA grant, which is supposed to start July first,” Katzeek said.
Library cuts have big impacts in small communities
At least five other tribes that have received IMLS funding could not be reached for comment. But Quiner, of the Alaska Library Association, provided a few additional examples of libraries that have lost funding so far.
Among them is the Kuskokwim Consortium Library, where Quiner serves as library director. She said the library partners with the Orutsararmiut Traditional Native Council in Bethel to get the same $10,000 grant as Klukwan. They got the cancellation notice, too – and haven’t heard any other updates from the agency.
Ten thousand dollars is a smaller sum than the agency’s much larger enhancement grants, which go to fewer recipients but often exceed $100,000. But they still matter, Quiner said, particularly in places where $10,000 can be the difference between having some library services or none at all.
“I did hear from the Pedro Bay Village Council that they’ve had to lay off a library worker because of this grant cancellation,” Quiner said. “And so it’s a small amount of money, but it has a pretty big impact in a small community.”
Other libraries, such as the Tuzzy Library in Utqiaġvik, aren’t as reliant on federal dollars.
The library is part of Iḷisaġvik College – Alaska’s only tribal college – and supports the school’s students and staff. It also provides public library services to seven communities across the North Slope Borough.
In an interview, Williams, the library’s director, said the library has received the $10,000 grant for each community for years. And as is the case in Klukwan and Bethel, those grants were cancelled.
She said the loss is a “significant hit” to the library. But she emphasized that the federal grant amounted to just 7% of her overall budget, which means the library won’t be as affected as others. She added that she also doesn’t have to worry as much about the matching requirement for the state grant.
“Thankfully, I’m able to use my local funds to be able to afford the match,” Williams said.
Still, she’s concerned about the broader ramifications of Trump’s effort to dismantle an agency that so many libraries rely on for funding. That’s especially the case, she said, given Alaska’s low literacy rate – and the role libraries play in getting early literacy resources to families in rural areas.
“Libraries provide not only just books, though,” she said. “There’s people in communities that don’t have internet at home. They don’t even have a computer at home. When they need services to apply for the PFD, to file their taxes, where are they going to go, if not the library?”
In Klukwan, Katzeek said earlier this month that she didn’t know what the ongoing litigation might mean for their funding. She’s also working with the tribal administrator to appeal the cancellations.
But for now, she said, her options are limited.
“We don’t yet know what the what it’ll look like for the library after June 30,” Katzeek said. “But we may have to close temporarily.”
This story has been updated with more information about ongoing litigation.
