From Viewpoints, Fall 2008
With tribal and community support, the UW moves forward on a Longhouse-style building to serve Native American students.
The UW's 2008 Tribal Leadership Summit held in April included Denny Hurtado, chair of the UW Native American Advisory Board, and UW President Mark Emmert. Photo by Mary Levin
The House of Knowledge, a Longhouse-style building reminiscent of the traditional dwelling and ceremonial structure of the coastal tribes, will be a gathering place offering hospitality and warmth to Native American students and people of all cultures. For years, American Indians throughout the region, on campus and off, have wanted a "home away from home" for their community's students.
"It will create a place for students just to be who they are on campus. It will take us out of the minority context and put us in a space that's more comfortable," says Pastores, a member of the Upper Skagit tribal community, who graduated in June.
The House of Knowledge will also be a place for meetings and special events. The structure is set to rise on the UW Seattle campus in several years, the culmination of a 30-year dream of faculty, staff, students and Native leaders.
The UW House of Knowledge won't be the first such facility to be erected on land near Lake Washington.
Leonard Forsman, '78, an anthropologist who is chairman of the Suquamish Tribe, notes that there were winter houses and American Indian villages dotted throughout the region in places now known as Bryn Mawr (south of Lake Washington), Green Lake, Ravenna Park, the land Qwest Field occupies, and many other locations.
Of the UW Longhouse that is planned, Forsman says, "The presence of the Lake People will finally be acknowledged." Forsman noted that the campus bears many Indian street names but until now, there has been no place to signify the American Indian presence.
The building will be about 21,000 square feet, and will achieve a LEED standard in "green" building that respects the land on which it is built consistent with Native American values. (LEED is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design; it's a green building system that adopts sustainable building practices.)
The UW project, which is budgeted at $12 million to $15 million, already has the support of many of the 34 tribes and tribal organizations in and around Washington State. Those working on the effort are in the process of identifying potential financial backers.
The project will be built in what is parking lot N6 near McMahon Hall. The willingness finally to build a Longhouse-style building reflects a renewed commitment on the part of the UW to acknowledge, support and reach out to Native American or American Indian students and their communities.
"I really see this as a positive move by the UW in creating a strong Native American presence on campus," says Charlotte Coté, assistant professor of American Indian Studies and chairperson of the House of Knowledge Project Advisory Committee (HOKPAC). Coté, who comes from the Nuu-chahnulth Nation on the west coast of Vancouver Island, also cites the new Bachelor of Arts major in American Indian Studies the UW has in place this fall.
"It is very important to American Indian Studies in that it reinforces that the whole University is on native land and it honors the native presence in Seattle, the Northwest and at the University of Washington," says Tom Colonnese, director of the UW's American Indian Studies program and a member of the Dakota tribe.
Another sign of the UW's commitment to Native students and communities was a Tribal Leaders Summit held in spring of 2007 at the urging of UW President Mark Emmert. Coté and other HOKPAC members credit Emmert with making the House of Knowledge a top UW priority and for ensuring that the facility is on the UW's capital projects list. "Nothing beats having the University president on your side," observes James Nason, '67, '70, professor emeritus and Comanche tribe member who is the founder of the UW's American Indian Studies Program.
The presence of a Longhouse-style facility is important to all of its stakeholders for a variety of reasons. One of the most important is the recruitment and retention of Native American students. Denny Hurtado, a member of the Skokomish tribe and chair of the UW Native American Advisory Board, explained how the House of Knowledge will help.
"When our students go away from their tribal communities, they come to a big campus in the middle of a big city. They don't have a place that's just for them to congregate. The culture is alienating and they are likely to drop out and leave," he says.
Currently, only 1.3 percent of the UW's undergraduates are Native American, a percentage that has remained almost unchanged since 1999. In addition, the Native American six-year graduation rate is 54 percent. The UW intends to change this picture and recruit and retain more Native American faculty and staff.
The House of Knowledge will provide a place for tribal members to interact with the University community and the public. "It will be a magnet for cross-cultural experiences and a recognition of the unique status of tribes in our community," says Ron Allen, '83, chairperson of the Jamestown S'Klallam tribe on the Olympic Peninsula.
Julian Argel, assistant to the Vice President for the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity, and a member of the Tsimshian/Haida tribe, sums up the significance of the project: "The House of Knowledge has the potential to be the hub of a very great wheel and a place of great welcome."
Julie Garner's last story for Viewpoints was on the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity.
