While America’s 250th birthday is still one year and 11 months away, Idaho officials and agencies are already hard at work planning a celebration worthy of the country’s semiquincentennial.
On July 3, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a proclamation establishing a task force across state agencies to plan and promote statewide activities as part of the national commemoration in 2026. The task force will work with the America250 in Idaho Advisory Council, created through the 2024 Idaho Legislature’s passage of House Concurrent Resolution 31, which includes $1.65 million in funding for the project.
“The United States of America is the greatest nation in the world and worthy of celebration,” Little said in a news release announcing the task force. “As we approach the 250th anniversary of American independence, Idaho is proud to recognize our nation’s triumphant history and the contributions of the Gem State. I look forward to seeing the America250 in Idaho initiative inspire patriotism, build civic participation, and celebrate freedom.”
The Idaho State Historical Society and its staff will play an integral role in the work of the task force.
“It’s essentially to advance the ideals that came out of the American Revolution – specifically equality, liberty and justice – through meaningful community engagement,” said Idaho state historian HannaLore Hein in a telephone interview. “And we’re hoping that in doing so, we’ll also have a chance to really look at Idaho’s journey in this American legacy, and that others can come to recognize, appreciate and commemorate that journey.”
It’s Hein’s hope that through some of the projects planned over the next two years, the story of Idaho and the West can be told alongside the history of the country itself. Oftentimes America’s history tends to get lumped into a North versus South framework, but Hein said Idaho and its people have a story just as important and formative to share.
“When you add in this regional component of, well, wait a minute, what about the American West? And how did all of these additional resources and the movement of so many people over such a vast space drive the country’s economic development, drive the country’s position in the world?” Hein said. “We’re not the afterthought to the American story. We are a critical component to the making of modern America.”
Idaho State Historical Society wants to hear your stories for America250 project
Two areas of emphasis for the historical society for this project include gathering oral histories from a variety of Idahoans and allocating grant funding to help other local organizations and nonprofits tell Idaho’s and America’s story through their own projects and materials.
The America250 in Idaho Oral History Initiative aims to capture stories from Idahoans from all walks of life and socioeconomic backgrounds by using the historical society’s subscription to TheirStory, Hein said. TheirStory, which the state has used since 2021, is an online platform that people can use to capture, transcribe, edit and preserve interviews for oral histories.
The following participants are eligible to apply to be apart of the oral history project:
Idaho nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations
Tribal governments
Federal and local governments
Universities and K-12 schools
For-profit businesses
Tax-exempt organizations, including churches
“Our state’s oral history program … and really oral history as a field of practice actually emerged during the bicentennial in the 1970s,” Hein said. “There was a kind of resurgence of the importance of storytelling and oral tradition during that time, and it gained a little bit more recognition in the academic world, but it also gained recognition in the museum and cultural space as well.”
It’s important to gather these histories from Idahoans now before it’s too late, Hein said, and she especially encouraged anyone with a connection to Idaho’s past, economy, environment, agriculture, art, Native American tribes, traditions or heritage to participate.
Grant funding available to help celebrate America250 across Idaho
The second major initiative for the historical society during the America250 planning is giving out grants to other organizations to establish their own projects, events or celebrations.
Hein said the historical society is hoping these grants can boost participation from city and county governments, local historical societies and other Idaho organizations during the festivities.
“Projects funded through this program provide a pathway to preserve and pass down a wealth of historical, cultural, and natural heritage to inspire and educate those yet to come,” Idaho’s page on the America250 website states.
The application window for the grants, which are available up to $25,000, should open within the next few weeks, Hein said. Potential grant projects could include proposals for capital investments, interpretation and signage projects, publications, development of educational materials, historic and cultural preservation projects, tourism, and records preservation projects, she said.
“For a lot of our partners that we work with on a regular basis, we’re hopeful that the dollar amount for these grants will have real impact at the local level,” Hein said, “and with this kind of funding, they’ll be able to develop their own programs, projects, and initiatives to align to the overall America250 and Idaho commemoration.”
The America250.idaho.gov website also features a place for local organizations to submit their America250 celebrations and related events on a statewide events calendar.
Hein said it’s her hope the 250th celebration will put an emphasis on studying Idaho and U.S. history and, in the process, bring people together. Studying history does two important things, she said: It teaches critical thinking skills and builds a framework with which to reflect and analyze the past to make better decisions for the future.
“If we can learn as individuals, as students, to pause in our own world today and reflect on what we’ve experienced, just like we would pause and reflect on the experiences of those from our past, we have this better foundation with which to experience the world,” Hein said.
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