Invitation from Betsy Diffendal and the Student Chairman of the Longhouse Planning Group

Item

Title

Invitation from Betsy Diffendal and the Student Chairman of the Longhouse Planning Group

Date

1982

extracted text

THE EVERGREEN

~TA'fE

COLLEGE

February 2, 1902

TO:

Wes Bergland, Dan Evano, Byron Youtz, Dick Schvrurtz
Rebecca Wright, John Perkins, Richard Alexander,
Barbera Smith, Sue lJashburn, Maxine MilliDls,
Mary Ellen Hillaire, David Whitener, futf:ner Haaenstab,
~loyd Colfax, ?hil Barding

'-JJ~~tsy

FROM:

Diffencla.l and l'Ielvin Moon, Jr.
Student Chail~, Longhouse Planning Group

You are invited to join us for lunch in ~ 108A at noon on February 9.
The Longltouse Plauniug Group, ca~posed of students and faculty from Life
Modelling and Envil.-o!'..mantai Ded?,ll, are developing planning and fund-~aisin~
strategies for the Lougbouse aa a ~art of their academic proRrma~ Before
they pro<t:eed with the process and plumb the interes·t of local Iadisn COimY!unities
in the concept, they need some guidance and clarification.
Specifically, they had hoped for a formal response from the Board of
Trt\otees on the three requests p!:esented at the December 10 Boa::-d meeting
. by this time (see Attachment I) o They ba;,·e not had an official r.esponae to
d~te.
As a result, the extent of fund-raising aud planning act:tv.i ties which
ebould .be undertaken as a part of the students' academic work is difficult
to gaugeo
In order to assure that communication and a shared underst;lnding am.ong
students. faculty, administretors and Board members a~;e kept op(~n, the Plann:f.ng
Group feel it important. ~o proce~d with an ad hoc internal Longhouse &6visory
bodyo It is for this ·r eason that this lunch meetbig tV&!i been called and tlutt.
you have been invitedo

At this meeting, we

w~ld

like to pureue the

follow~ng

ageada:

1)

Share information abo~t current Board sentiments and e;tpcctations
which might be affecti.ng their response to tlae three i :3suea
requested at th~ ·Deee::ub2r meE.ting.
· ···
10 minu~

2)

Give an informational r.~ie.J of the progress of student planning
activity since the p~~s:::ntation to the Board on Decemb:~r 10,

1981.

10 mf.nutes

3)

Prt'vide sugt;estions to the student planne.:s for the co;nposition
of a formal Longhouse advisory committee '<fhich could k~ep all
official pa~ties up-to-date and fecilitat~ information sharin~
and tntst.
10 min~tes

4)

Discuss the "Issues &ud Oueetions for Preaentatiou to the President's
Cot:..;:!cil" pl'~patced by Byt"on Youtz. (See Attaclm>.ent 2) Must these
all be snSt-1!3X'ed before a decision will be made by the loard to affh-rn the
planning p~ocess and to appoint a repr-esentative to th~ ~dvisory Committee?
Many of the questions in categories II, l!I, and IV as3ume that planning
· decisions bava alreadv been made.
10 ~.t.ttes

-3LONGHOUSE PROJECT PRESENTATION - Policy Discussion
Faculty Member Mary Hillaire prefaced the Longhouse project presentation
with comments about the history, nat·ure and philosophies of Native
Americans in the United States.
The Native American studies expansion plan requests approval to seek a site
or sites located where the land meets the water for the construction of a
Native American Longhouse, a gathering place for designed diversity, a
place of hospitality and an environmental setting for alternative
education. In addition, the group requests the following actions of the
Board: (1) an affirmat~on or go-ahead to the students and faculty in the
academic programs to begin the next phases of planning--environmental
impact statement and lay-out of a plan where the land meets the water; (2)
the selection or volunteering of a Board member to represent the Trustees
on a Planning Advisory Board; and (3) proposed earmarking of $5,000 to be
used between row and June to defray the costs of Native American studies/
Environmental Design students and faculty who will be visiting traditional
Longhouse sites, preparing designs, and setting up community links with
Native American communities in this portion of the state.

r

Ms. Hillaire presented a slide/oral presentation of the vision of the
Longhouse.
Student Joe Waterhouse discussed the value of cedar to the Native
Americans, indicating there is enough cedar on campus to build a Longhouse
structure and emphasized the value of the project to Native Americans who
would gather to share knowledge, and to others on campus and around ' the
state. Mr. Waterhouse mentioned that construction could be done by those
involved and proposed that one of the two sites on campus which were
previously Native American dwelling sites be used as a location for the
Longhouse project. He indicated he would share Longhouse plans with
Trustees.
Coleen Ray, a graduate of Evergreen, introduced her husband, David Ray, who
works with Thurston County human services delivery. Hr. Ray discussed the
problems in identifying social and environmental services for the Indian
population. He envisions this facility as a clearinghouse (there is no
central source for ·various state, federal and other agencies to use to find
out about population and contacts) for such things as dissemination of
information, study grants, federal research projects, etc. This additional
revenue would be cleared through the college. This could be the first
place in the country that centers on the issues of Native American social
service needs. Hr. Ray thought he could get support from .his department if
that would sway the Trustees' decision. Faculty Member David Whitener
shared his perceptions of the proposed Longhouse, discussed the planning
needed, and asked for an expression of support from the Board for the
concept and a go-ahead with the planning.
others who commented were: Wesley Penn, student; Anne Lawton Lunt,
student; Pablo Schugurensky, student; and Miriam Hillaire, student.
Chairman Sylvester expressed appreciation for the informative and sensitive
presentation. Questions from Trustees included: whether the design of the

'

.....

-4project was dependent upon receipt of grants (no) and what percentage of
existing cedar on campus would be utilized to construct a 30 x 60 foot
Longhouse (10- 12 good sized trees would be needed).
President Evans felt the next stage for the Board would be to take under
advisement the specific requests (mentioned previously) and pointed out the
attached list of major questions (dated 12/3/81) which needed to be
responded to in order for the ' Board to have sufficient information on which
to base a decision.
PROGRESS REPORT ON CURRENT YEAR'S GOALS AND OBJECTIVES - Policy Discussion
In preparation for a Trustee retreat and formulation of Trustee goals for
1982-83, Byron Youtz highlighted progress on the current year's goals and
objectives for academic-related areas of campus; Dick Schwartz covered
progress in the remaining areas of the college. Jane Sylvester asked for a
listing of the problem areas in preparation of the retreat.
PRESIDENT'S REPORT - Continued
Admissions Statistics

~Evans)

President Evans reported that winter quarter applications and admissions
were below last year; however, registration seems to be the same at this
point. Applications for next fall are 25 percent ahead of last fall at the
same time, with admissions 40 percent ahead.
Legislative Update (Eldridge)
Les Eldridge reported the end of the session actions: the ·budget cut for
Evergreen was 5 percent; the bills which didn't pass included HB 784 (which
attempted to make increases in revenues) and the Evergreen closure bill
which is still in the House Higher Education Committee. He indicated the
outlook for the January session is difficult since the combination of cuts
and taxes passed does not equal the projected short-fall and the
Legislature will be reluctant to increase taxes as the time for elections
nears. There is a possibility of a moratorium on capital budgets during
the upcoming session. Hr. Eldridge invited participation at Evergreen's
legislative reception (February 25) and the Council of Presidents/alumni
association reception (date to be determined).
At Hr. Halvorson's sugge~tion, Trustees Gelman and Sylvester expressed
interest in meeting with Representative Bond during the upcoming
legislative session.
Budget Report (Evans)
President Evans reported that Evergreen needs to reduce its budget by 5
percent. The college is currently operating on the basis of a budget cut
of 10.1 percent of the original allocations for this fiscal year. The
President's Council will review the situation. The staff has agreed to:
(1) maintain the current target enrollment of 2500 FTE for next fall, and
{2) run summer school on a self-sustaining basis for next year. President

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1973-86_NAS_8D38_02_32