WASHINGTON – The National Park Service is sending nearly half a million in Historic Preservation Funds to Louisiana and just over $100,000 to four Native American tribes located in the state in 2017.

Nearly $30 million in historic preservation grants will be distributed nationwide, and $5.7 million in grants will be distributed to more than 160 tribes for cultural and heritage preservation projects on their tribal lands, according to U.S. Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke.

“Fees collected from drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf help fund important conservation tools like these grants,” Secretary Zinke said. “The Department of the Interior and the National Park Service are committed to preserving U.S. and tribal history and heritage. Through valuable partnerships we are able to assist communities and tribes in ensuring the diverse historic places, culture and traditions that make our country unique are protected for future generations.”

The money sent to tribal and historic preservation groups has gone to fund the recording of oral histories, underwater surveys of shipwrecks in Lake Michigan, and a youth summit in Texas aimed at preserving historic truss bridges, among other things.

In Louisiana, the Chitimacha and Coushatta tribes, the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, and the Tunica-Biloxi Indians of Louisiana will each receive around $30,000.