May 19, 2015

wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ (Intellectual House) Opens on UW Campus

Throngs of community members, students, faculty, and staff joined tribal leaders and elders from around the area at the opening of Intellectual House, the new longhouse-style center in the heart of the University of Washington. The sound of drums and singing rang out across campus as people gathered over two days in March to celebrate the realization of a decades-long dream. As one elder and UW graduate remarked, Native American students have fought to have a place of their own on campus since the 1970s. Ross Braine, Intellectual House director and tribal liaison with the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity agreed, noting that a building like this was the dream of his mentor and predecessor Julian Argel who passed in 2012. This new building will serve as a place for indigenous students to gather; for traditional skills, medicines, and foods to be passed on; and as a center for Native learning.

Opening festivities included a housewarming reception, ribbon-cutting and Tribal Leadership Summit on Thursday, March 12, and twelve hours of celebration and sharing on Friday, March 13. Guests from around the region came to hear a welcome by leading UW officials including UW Interim President Ana Mari Cauce and Sheila Edwards Lange, PhD, Vice President/Vice Provost for Minority Affairs and Diversity. More than ten tribes and Native organizations offered prayers, songs and dances in celebration and recognition of the ancestors and all those who were gathered. Lunch and dinner were served on Friday featuring Native foods including elk and salmon, donated by local tribes and prepared by tribal members.

Polly Olsen, community relations and development director for IWRI, played a key role in the planning and coordination of cultural and protocol activities around the building and opening of the building. Olsen and others worked closely with the advisory committee of Elders from around the state. Elders named the facility, cleansed and blessed the site and structure as building took place and helped to open the center in a good way during the opening celebration.

The Intellectual House includes a gathering space for up to 500 people, a large kitchen and an outdoor circle with a fire pit. Efforts to establish the Intellectual House gained momentum when former UW President Mark Emmert put it on the university’s capital construction plan in 2006 and the Washington State Legislature set aside $3 million for the project in the late 2000s. The rest of the $6 million building cost came from donations, primarily from area tribes. Fundraising is continuing for a second building on the site.

Many hope that wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ, Lushootseed for Intellectual House, becomes a welcoming space for all who choose to visit, Native and non-Native folks alike, community member or UW student. This hope looks to be on the way to becoming a reality. In response to an online story about Intellectual House, one non-native student posted a question in the comments: “Can we study there? Serious question.” A fellow student responded, “Yes. I’ve worked with Ross [Braine] a little myself and he’s made it very clear. This is Our longhouse. It’s Our home. It isn’t, and shouldn’t be something, only available for native students.” The commenter adds, “Auntie Polly was absolutely right when she talked about it feeling full of life. It feels like it’s made to be filed with people, music, laughter… it’s a beautiful building.”