Ceremony Celebrates Pledge to Support Native American Education

On a chilly spring day near the banks of the Clearwater River, Washington State University president Elson Floyd joined higher education leaders from 4 regional colleges and universities at Nez Perce National Historical Park in Spalding, Idaho, to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that pledges to develop and deliver cooperative educational services and scholarship to and about Native Americans.

The agreement establishes a Native American Collaborations Committee, whose members will develop plans to establish and enhance a joint curriculum in Native American studies, improve student services, and support and promote scholarship and outreach activities.

According to Barbara Aston, special assistant to the WSU provost/tribal liaison and interim director of the Plateau Center for American Indian Studies in the College of Liberal Arts, this MOU was conceptualized at an October 2006 meeting hosted by the Plateau Center.

"All present recognized a need and desire to work collaboratively to enhance Native American education and our outreach and service to Native American tribes," Aston said.

Participants identified a pilot project for collaboration while continuing dialogue and garnering administrative support for the development of the MOU. The pilot project involved extending the offering of a Nez Perce language course, originally offered at Lewis-Clark State College, to WSU through the Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures.

In each of their signing speeches, the presidents emphasized the importance of educational access. Floyd said, "We have an obligation to students to provide excellence in education...We give back to the communities we serve."

"The signing of this MOU is the culmination of a lot of conversations and planning, though we view it as a beginning," said Mary Collins, Plateau Center coordinator and associate director of the WSU Museum of Anthropology. "We are going public with a promise, and that is the biggest responsibility we carry. I think of it as something like a wedding, a wonderful celebration witnessed by our leaders and colleagues, but only the beginning of the real work of building strong relationships."

In the outdoor ceremony that took place March 24 on Nez Perce homeland, the university presidents—Elson Floyd along with Dene Thomas (Lewis-Clark State College), Priscilla J. Bell (North Idaho College), Cheryl Crazy Bull (Northwest Indian College), and Timothy P. White (University of Idaho)—committed their universities and colleges to join together for the benefit of one cause: Native American education.

Collins said, "We wanted this signing to happen away from any campus, where all participants were equal partners, in a setting that helped us think about the importance of place. To be by a river that isn't dammed, among people whose lives have been intertwined with that landscape for millennia, was inspiring."

The WSU Palouse Falls Intertribal Drum and Nez Perce Nation Drum opened and closed the ceremony, with students from each institution joining the Nez Perce Honor Guard in posting the colors. Chairman Sam Penney of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee welcomed all present. The ceremony concluded with a closing prayer and circle friendship dance.

In recent years, WSU has made significant efforts toward improving service and scholarship related to American Indians. The Plateau Center for American Indian Studies was created in 2005 to foster research, teaching, and outreach focused on Native American issues, with a primary focus on the local Plateau peoples.

Faculty in the College of Education have made important contributions in the areas of Native teacher preparation, culturally responsive curriculum, and the study of multicultural issues in higher education.

The Division of Student Affairs, Equity, and Diversity has made significant investments in student services through the Native American Student Center and contributions to the larger community through the newly dedicated Native American Culture and Heritage House.

Recruitment efforts through the Tribal Liaison Office and campuswide, as well as focused efforts in nursing and speech and hearing sciences, have made strides in expanding the Native presence at WSU.

All of these efforts are ongoing and continue to strengthen. The MOU gives great promise for continued growth by sharing our most valuable resource: the hard work of committed people.