PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 22, No. 14, Feb. 20, 2003

Native American House opens in temporary location

By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor
(217) 244-1072; slforres@uiuc.edu

Native American House, a new cultural house on the Urbana campus, was inaugurated with a grand opening reception on Feb. 6.

Temporarily located at 505 E. Green St., Champaign, Native American House is expected to move to its permanent location at 1206 W. Nevada St., Urbana, by fall 2003 upon completion of structural renovations.

Native American House will serve as a venue for cultural events, social activities and as an outreach system for students of American Indian heritage. The cultural house also will play a pivotal role in educating the campus community about issues affecting native populations.

At the ceremony, Provost Richard Herman said the opening of Native American House was a positive step toward creating "a better dialogue, not just on Native American studies, but on the aggregate."

"The Committee on Native American Programs has not only spoken to the importance of Native American studies, but the potential for, I think, interconnectedness among cultural and area studies programs," Herman said. "I’m very hopeful that the subcommittee that is looking at cultural studies programs will shape a connected program so that when people see the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign they see a place where studies of ethnicity, race and gender are prominent."

The Committee on Native American Programs, formed during fall 2002, is looking at establishing a Native American studies program on the Urbana campus. As the committee explores various possibilities, it is consulting with scholars of American Indian studies at other universities and hosting a series of symposia to heighten awareness of issues affecting native populations.

The founding of the cultural house and establishing a Native American studies program at Urbana will draw more Native American students to the university, said Joseph Podlasek, executive director of the American Indian Center (AIC), Chicago.

Also speaking at the ceremony was K. Tsianina Lomawaima, professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona, who said that universities around the nation are showing unprecedented interest in developing and expanding American Indian studies programs.

"What that indicates is a direct acknowledgment by the academic world of the central contribution that American Indian studies can make to our intellectual life and to the general educational mission that is at the core of our educational institutions," Lomawaima said.

People are welcome to contact any member of the Committee on Native American Programs with comments and suggestions. The committee’s members include Jesse Delia, Liberal Arts and Sciences; Brenda Farnell, anthropology; Andrew Hamblin, natural resources and environmental sciences; Fred Hoxie, history; Robert Parker, English; Debbie Reese and Wanda Pillow, both of educational policy studies; and Jon McKinney, graduate student in English.

Native American House is open from noon to 5 p.m. weekdays. The telephone number is 265-9870

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