Sower Award in the
Humanities
The Nebraska
Humanities Council annually honors individuals,
institutions, businesses and communities with Sower Awards
for contributions to public understanding of the humanities
in Nebraska, based on nominations and letters of support
from the citizens of Nebraska. The Sower Award is an
original bronze sculpture by Nebraska artist Sondra Dunn
Mahoney.
April 2008
Sower Award
nominations are due June 1
The Nebraska
Humanities Council (NHC) is seeking nominations for its annual Sower
Award in the Humanities, which recognizes individuals, institutions,
businesses and communities that have made a significant contribution
to public understanding of the humanities in Nebraska.
The Sower Award
will be presented during ceremonies at the 13th Annual Governor’s
Lecture in the Humanities Sept. 18 at the Lied Center for Performing
Arts in Lincoln. Presidential advisor, Harvard professor and
political commentator David Gergen will deliver this year’s lecture.
Sower Award
nominations must be postmarked no later than June 1. For more
information or to receive a nomination form, contact the Nebraska
Humanities Council at 215 Centennial Mall South, Suite 330, Lincoln,
NE 68508; call (402) 474-2131 ext. 102, fax (402) 474-4852 or e-mail
nhc@nebraskahumanities.org. The nomination form also can be
downloaded by clicking the link in the left-hand column.
Previous awards
have recognized the work of humanities faculty who have taken the
humanities to the public beyond their classroom, volunteers who have
enhanced the cultural life of their state, and journalists and
filmmakers who have brought the humanities to bear on important
public issues. Other winners include museums, historical societies
and libraries that have expanded their mission to include active
collaborations with schools, churches and civic organizations;
businesses and foundations whose support for the humanities has
enriched Nebraskans’ lives; and communities that have incorporated
local ethnic and historical identity in community planning and
economic development.
Among individuals
who have won the Sower Award are Native American leader Charles
“Chuck” Trimble, public TV pioneers Jack McBride and Ron Hull, State
Sen. LaVon Crosby, storyteller Nancy Duncan, humanities advocate
Jack Campbell, philanthropist E.N. “Jack” Thompson, historians
Ronald Naugle and Gary Moulton and poets Don Welch and Ted Kooser.
Winning institutions include El Museo Latino, the Beatrice Public
Library and the Omaha World-Herald. Cozad, Gering and Scottsbluff
are among communities that have won the award.
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October 2007
Trimble accepts 2007 Sower Award
Charles "Chuck"
Trimble, winner of the 2007 Sower Award, made the following comments
on accepting the award Oct. 2 at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha.
By Charles “Chuck” Trimble
"Trust is honor…
To be entrusted with the protection
of the rights of our tribes in their sovereignty and their
self-determination is a tremendous honor.
To be entrusted with the protection
and preservation of the history and heritage of the people of my
adoptive homeland, Nebraska, is a great honor.
To be asked to work in providing for
and promoting the arts and humanities is both a pleasure and a great
honor.
To be given the chance to serve the
needs of the poor and the homeless is truly an honor.
So, Nebraska Commission on Indian
Affairs, the Nebraska State Historical Society, the Nebraska
Humanities Council, the Nebraska Arts Council and Opera Omaha, and
the civic and charitable organizations on which I was asked to
serve, thank you for the honor of your trust.
To be recognized with this coveted
award—the Sower Award—is an honor most overwhelming to me. Thank
you, Humanities Council, and thank you Nebraska for giving me a
chance to serve."
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August
2007
Native
leader Trimble wins 2007 Sower Award
 The
Nebraska Humanities Council announced today that Charles E. “Chuck”
Trimble of Omaha will receive its 2007 Sower Award in the
Humanities.
Trimble will
be honored Oct. 2 at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, in conjunction
with the 12th Annual Governor’s Lecture in the Humanities. Michael
Beschloss, author of the current best-seller “Presidential Courage:
Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989,” will deliver
the lecture, entitled “Great Presidents Past and Present.”
A respected
and honored member of the Oglala Sioux Nation who has been active on
both the national and state level on behalf of Native Americans,
Trimble is the founder of two companies focused on economic
development for Native American reservations, as well as the Red
Willow Institute, which provides technical and management assistance
to Native American nonprofit organizations. He was executive
director of the National Congress of American Indians in Washington,
D.C., representing the vast majority of tribes in the U.S. He
founded the American
Indian Press
Association, now the Native American Journalists Association.
Trimble is
past president of the board of directors of the John G. Neihardt
Foundation and the Nebraska State Historical Society. He also has
served on the board of directors of the Nebraska Commission on
Indian Affairs, the Nebraska Humanities Council, and the board of
trustees of the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress
in Washington, D.C. He has spent a lifetime promoting the common
history of the Great Plains to create bridges between Native and
non-Native peoples. His understanding contributed to the American
Folklife Center’s
work in
preserving, maintaining, and returning cultural documents to
American Indian communities. At the Neihardt Center, Trimble has
encouraged young Native writers to develop their skills and publish
their work. He has worked with the Nebraska State Historical Society
to equip Nebraska teachers to better teach about the Indian
experience in American history.
Most
recently, Trimble collaborated with Opera Omaha to create “Wakonda’s
Dream,” inspired by the trial of Standing Bear. Working with the
composer, librettist, and stage director for nearly four years,
Trimble drew upon his deeply personal experiences growing up as a
Lakota Sioux, attending Indian school, and living with and observing
the realities of contemporary Native American life to create a
profoundly moving work of art about assimilation that successfully
bridged Native and non-Native experience.
The Nebraska
Humanities Council annually honors individuals, institutions,
businesses and communities with Sower Awards for contributions to
public understanding of the humanities in Nebraska, based on
nominations and letters of support from the citizens of Nebraska.
The Sower Award is an original bronze sculpture by Nebraska-born
artist Sandra Dunn Mahoney.
Presented by
the Nebraska Humanities Council (NHC), Creighton University and the
University of Nebraska,
the Oct. 2 evening lecture will be free and open to the public.
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