The Payne Family Native American Center, located at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana, is the first facility built exclusively for a department of Native American Studies and American Indian Student Services in the United States. [1] [2]
A dedication was held May 13, 2010, to celebrate the facility's new home at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. Joseph Medicine Crow wore his Presidential Medal of Freedom as he tapped the building with a coup stick; a common practice that warriors used when a new lodge or teepee was raised. [1] The building's dedication represented a "coming home" for Montana Natives because the land the university occupies used to be home to Chief Charlo and the Bitterroot Salish prior to the federal government forcing them to migrate north to the Flathead Indian Reservation in 1891. [2] The "Coming Home' walk began at the Adams Center and ended at the university's oval. Other key events included the dedication to the center's Bonnie HeavyRunner Memorial Gathering Space and a luncheon sponsored by the University of Montana and Crow Nation. [3]
The building's structure is based around a 12-sided rotunda style design, with each side representing one of the 12 tribes in Montana. The 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) building [4] has Parfleche patterns that represent the 12 tribes etched and stained onto the floor. The logs that hold the building erect were salvaged from the nearby Clark Fork river. The Payne Family Native American Center is the most recent facility to be built at the university and occupies the last of its usable building space around the oval. The center was designed by Daniel Glenn, a member of the Crow Tribe and principal of Glenn & Glenn Architects Engineers, PLLC. The center holds four classrooms, one conference room, 12 office spaces, a student lounge and student meeting rooms. [5] Keeping with Native American tradition, the center's main entrance faces east. The roof features a long skylight, which resembles the slit of a teepee's smoke hole. Carved into exterior walls are the seals of Montana's seven reservations and the landless Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, as well as quotes from former University President George Dennison and Native American elders such as Earl Barlow and Joseph Medicine Crow. Seven native plant and herb gardens circle the center and symbolize the state's reservations and the seven stars of the big dipper. [6]
According to project superintendent Todd Stenerson, 85 percent of the construction waste was diverted from the landfill. University project manager Jameel Chaudhry said rocks were dug up from the building site and used for retaining walls in place of concrete. Contractors were encouraged to purchase materials locally to reduce the carbon footprint. Bathrooms in the center include showers that could encourage biking and walking to campus. [5] The center is the first building in the Montana University System to be certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. [6]
The Native American Center was financed largely by Terry Payne who graduated from the University of Montana in 1963. He is the chairman of the Payne Financial Group, in Missoula, Montana. [7] The center cost $8.6 million to build. [8] Other key donors include First Interstate Bank and the Indian Land Tenure Foundation. [3]
On November 5, 2010, The Payne Family Native American Center was awarded the Environmental Achievement award by the Pacific Northwest International Section of the Air and Waste Management Association during the association's 50th annual conference. [9]
On April 13, 2010, a rock was thrown into the window of a door on the northeast side of the building. The rock broke the outside glass pane, but did not go all the way through the window. The incident was reported to campus police around 10:58 a.m. the next day. President George Dennison sent out a campus wide email that appealed to the campus to report "any activities that appear to threaten the grounds, facilities, and campus members." [10]
Crow Agency is a census-designated place (CDP) in Big Horn County, Montana, United States and is near the actual location for the Little Bighorn National Monument and re-enactment produced by the Real Bird family known as Battle of the Little Bighorn Reenactment. The population was 1,616 at the 2010 census. It is the governmental headquarters of the Crow Native Americans. It is also the location of the "agency offices" where the federal Superintendent of the Crow Indian Reservation and his staff interacts with the Crow Tribe, pursuant to federal treaties and statutes.
Missoula is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot Rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five mountain ranges, thus it is often described as the "hub of five valleys". The 2020 United States Census shows the city's population at 73,489 and the population of the Missoula Metropolitan Area at 117,922. After Billings, Missoula is the second-largest city and metropolitan area in Montana. Missoula is home to the University of Montana, a public research university.
The Flathead Indian Reservation, located in western Montana on the Flathead River, is home to the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreilles tribes – also known as the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation. The reservation was created through the July 16, 1855, Treaty of Hellgate.
The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fall of 2018. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" as of 2022.
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation are a federally recognized tribe in the U.S. state of Montana. The government includes members of several Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles tribes and is centered on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
The Crow Fair was created in 1904 by Crow leaders and an Indian government agent to present the Crow Tribe of Indians as culturally distinct and modern peoples, in an entrepreneurial venue. It welcomes all Native American tribes of the Great Plains to its festivities, functioning as a "giant family reunion under the Big Sky." Indeed, it is currently the largest Northern Native American gathering, attracting nearly 45,000 spectators and participants. Crow Fair is "the teepee capital of the world, over 1,500 teepees in a giant campground," according to 2011 Crow Fair General Manager Austin Little Light.
James Phillip Welch Jr., who grew up within the Blackfeet and A'aninin cultures of his parents, was a Native American novelist and poet, considered a founding author of the Native American Renaissance. His novel Fools Crow (1986) received several national literary awards, and his debut novel Winter in the Blood (1974) was adapted as a film by the same name, released in 2013.
The Crow Indian Reservation is the homeland of the Crow Tribe. Established 1868, the reservation is located in parts of Big Horn, Yellowstone, and Treasure counties in southern Montana in the United States. The Crow Tribe has an enrolled membership of approximately 11,000, of whom 7,900 reside in the reservation. 20% speak Crow as their first language.
Little Big Horn College is a public tribal land-grant community college on the Crow Indian Reservation in Crow Agency, Montana. It has an open admissions policy and welcomes enrollment from any adult with a high school diploma or GED. The student body is composed of Crow Tribal members, members of American Indian Tribes from around the intermountain west, and non-Indian residents of the Big Horn County area.
Robert Summers Yellowtail was a leader of the Crow Nation. Described as a "20th Century Warrior", Yellowtail was the first Native American to hold the post of Agency Superintendent at a reservation.
Same-sex marriage in Montana has been recognized since a federal district court ruled the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional on November 19, 2014. Montana had previously denied marriage rights to same-sex couples by statute since 1997 and in its State Constitution since 2004. The state appealed the ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, but before that court could hear the case, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all same-sex marriage bans in the country in Obergefell v. Hodges, mooting any remaining appeals.
The Alexander Blewett III School of Law is a law school at the University of Montana in Missoula. It was established in 1911 and remains Montana's only law school. In 2014, the school accepted 83 applicants. The school tied for 103rd in the 2023 U.S. News & World Report law school rankings. In 2009, National Jurist magazine ranked the school 6 in best value nationally, with its graduates passing the bar at a rate of 95%. The school has been praised for its innovative integration of theory and practice.
The Montana Kaimin is the University of Montana's student-run independent newspaper located in Missoula, Montana. The paper is printed once a week, Thursday, with special editions printed occasionally. The current editor-in-chief is Griffen Smith. The newspaper is divided into four sections: news, sports, arts and culture, and opinion. It is printed in color.
Missoula College - University of Montana is the junior college of the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. The college was founded in 1956 and became part of the University of Montana in 1994. It offers 35 programs including career, transfer, and technical programs. The five academic departments include the Department of Applied Computing and Electronics, Department of Industrial Technology, Department of Applied Arts and Sciences, Department of Business Technology, and Department of Health Professions. The college also provides workforce development for the region as well as dual credit courses for hundreds of high school students in the area, and works to support adults seeking new career opportunities or professional development. During the Fall 2010 semester, 2,444 students were enrolled at Missoula College.
Bonnie Combes HeavyRunner founded the Native American Studies program at the University of Montana. She was the director of the Native American Studies department and pioneered the creation of The Payne Family Native American Center on the University of Montana campus. She was a member of the Blackfeet Nation and worked to create a support system for Native American students on the University of Montana campus until her death of ovarian cancer on November 24, 1997.
Corwin "Corky" Clairmont is a printmaker and conceptual and installation artist from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation. Known for his high concept and politically charged works, Clairmont seeks to explore situations that affect Indian Country historically and in contemporary times.
I don't put work out that gives solutions but provokes questions. - Corky Clairmont
The Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) is a natural history facility and zoological collection located on the second floor of the Health Sciences building on the Missoula, Montana campus of the University of Montana.
The history of Missoula, Montana begins as early as 12,000 years ago with the end of the region's glacial lake period with western exploration dating back to the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804–1806. The first permanent settlement was founded in 1860.
Marjorie Bear Don't Walk is an Ojibwa-Salish health care professional and Native American fashion designer. She is most known as an advocate for reforms in the Indian Health Service, and specifically the care of urban Native Americans. In addition, she is a fashion designer who has targeted career women, designing professional attire which incorporated traditional techniques into her clothing.
Jade Bahr is a Democratic Party politician and was a member Montana House of Representatives from District 50 who has served between 2019 and 2021.
Coordinates: 46°51′35″N113°59′11″W / 46.85972°N 113.98639°W