University of Montana: Payne Family Native American Center dedication activities, May 13

The long awaited press release from the Univeristy of Montana is done! Read on about all the activities going on next Thursday to celebrate the opening of the beautiful new Payne Family Native American Center on campus. A stellar list of speakers, donors, politicians and performers will be in Missoula, including Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Elouise Cobell, Jon Swan, Henry Real Bird, Joe Medicine Crow and more.

Here is the shakedown for the day:

The University of Montana will hold several events Thursday, May 13, to celebrate the completion and opening of The Payne Family Native American Center – the first of its kind at any American university. The public is invited to join tribal leaders and community, state and campus representatives for the day’s events, which will include many Native American traditions to honor and dedicate the new center.

From the beginning American Indian people have led the effort to establish the Native American center at UM. A historic sunrise ceremony was held in 2006 to bless the building site – the first time in more than 100 years that all the state’s tribal leaders gathered for a single, unified purpose. Leaders from all Montana tribes also were present at the April 2008 groundbreaking ceremony at UM, and they will return to see the culmination of a project that began with discussions in 2004.
“The Payne Family Native American Center underscores our commitment to serve all Montanans, not just some,” UM President George M. Dennison said. “It also places The University of Montana in a unique leadership position nationally and is a source of tremendous pride for everyone involved.”

The formal dedication ceremony will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the UM Oval directly in front of the center. Seating will be provided. The ceremony will begin with an opening convocation by author and historian Joe Medicine Crow. Speakers will include Native American activist Elouise Cobell, UM Native American studies alumnus Jon Swan and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer.
Student-led tours of the center will be available from 1 to 4 p.m. and from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The new center will house UM’s Department of Native American Studies, American Indian Student Services and related campus programming. Information about American Indian Student Services and various campus Native American student organizations will be available in the center’s Kyi-Yo Room.

The University also will host a reception for tribal dignitaries, campus partners and donors. Terry Payne, a UM alumnus and Missoula businessman, is the center’s lead donor. Other key donors include First Interstate Bank and the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, a nationally recognized organization headquartered outside Minneapolis. The Native American center also was a top campus priority in UM’s successful “Invest in Discovery” campaign that ended in December 2007.

In addition to the formal dedication ceremony, the following events are free and open to the public May 13:
 8:30 a.m.: “Coming Home” walk from the Adams Center to the center of the Oval. The public is invited to participate in or enjoy the symbolic walk, led by children from Arlee’s Salish language revitalization institute. Representatives from all Montana tribes will participate. A flag song and flag raising ceremony will be held on the Oval.

 10 a.m.: Dedication of the center’s Bonnie HeavyRunner Memorial Gathering Space. HeavyRunner (Blackfeet) received a juris doctor degree from UM in 1988. She served as director of the Native American Studies Program and was instrumental in the creation of the University’s Department of Native American Studies. HeavyRunner lost a long battle with cancer in 1997.

 11 a.m.: An event on the UM Oval to honor the artisans, craftspeople, visionaries, designers and implementers of the fine details of the center.

 11:45 a.m.: Lunch on the Oval, sponsored by UM and the Crow Nation. Prepared by UM Catering Services, the menu will include buffalo soup, vegetarian soup, fry bread, and huckleberry and cherry cobbler. The Crow Nation donated the buffalo.

 1 p.m.: Henry Real Bird, storyteller and Montana poet laureate, will give a presentation on the first floor of the center.

 1-3 p.m.: Students will give academic presentations on the first floor of the center. A documentary by UM’s Indigenous Filmmakers Club will be shown on the center’s second floor.

American Sign Language interpreters and listening devices will be provided during the day’s events, and the parking lot located behind and east of Main Hall has been designated for people who hold a valid disability parking permit. Those who need assistance getting to the seating area on the Oval can call 406-243-6131.
Event organizers recommend using public transportation to get to and from campus if at all possible. For those who need to drive to campus, all parking in lots that require decals on campus will be open to the public, with the exception of Quick Stop, reserved and metered spaces.

For more information, call Linda Juneau, UM tribal liaison, at 406-243-6093 or e-mail linda.juneau@umontana.edu.

Jodi Rave