<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16981" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV>
<H1>Full circle: UM's Payne Family Native American Center nears completion </H1>
<P class=byline>By CHELSI MOY of the Missoulian | Posted: Tuesday, March 9, 2010
11:13 pm</P>
<DIV id=blox-story-media>
<DIV id=blox-story-photo-container><SPAN id=pictopiaURL title=http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/missoulian></SPAN><SPAN id=siteHost title=http://www.missoulian.com></SPAN>
<DIV id=blox-large-photo-page><A name=photos></A><A href="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/missoulian.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/a/ac/3e7/aac3e7cc-2bda-11df-ae8a-001cc4c03286.image.jpg?_dc=1268180403" rel=facebox><IMG id=img-holder alt=" " src="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/missoulian.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/a/ac/3e7/aac3e7cc-2bda-11df-ae8a-001cc4c03286.preview-300.jpg?_dc=1268180403" width=300><FONT color=#0074b3> </FONT></A>
<P class=photo-cutline><SPAN id=gallery-cutline>From the rotunda of the Payne
Family Native American Center, a bank of windows faces the Oval of the
University of Montana. The building, which will house UM’s Native American
Studies department and American Indian Student Services, is nearly finished and
will be dedicated on May 13. Photo by TOM
BAUER/Missoulian</SPAN> </P></DIV>
<DIV class=blox-thumb-container>
<UL class="loading hide">
<LI><A title="031010 native american center two" href="http://www.missoulian.com/news/local/article_3506da44-2c0c-11df-8943-001cc4c03286.html#2" rel=http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/missoulian.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/3/07/7ef/3077ef08-2bdb-11df-b1b8-001cc4c03286.image.jpg?_dc=1268180627 name="The main entrance to the building and rotunda faces east, in the tradition of the tepees it s designed after. Photo by TOM BAUER/Missoulian
"><IMG alt="031010 native american center two" src="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/missoulian.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/3/07/7ef/3077ef08-2bdb-11df-b1b8-001cc4c03286.preview-100.jpg?_dc=1268180627" rel="buy_photo"></A> </LI>
<LI><A title="031010 native american center three" href="http://www.missoulian.com/news/local/article_3506da44-2c0c-11df-8943-001cc4c03286.html#3" rel=http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/missoulian.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/8/10/7d4/8107d488-2bdb-11df-b4ce-001cc4c03286.image.jpg?_dc=1268180764 name="Linda Juneau, UM s tribal liaison, describes the cultural significance of some of the center s features on Tuesday. Each of Montana s 12 tribes is represented in the building, from the 12-sided rotunda to the designs in the floors. Photo by TOM BAUER/Missoulian
"><IMG alt="031010 native american center three" src="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/missoulian.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/8/10/7d4/8107d488-2bdb-11df-b4ce-001cc4c03286.preview-100.jpg?_dc=1268180764" rel="buy_photo"></A> </LI></UL></DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=clear></DIV></DIV><!--<div id="story-skyscraper"><img src="global/resources/images/160_600.gif" alt="" /></div>-->
<DIV id=blox-story-text>
<P>For months, University of Montana students, faculty and staff have watched
the Payne Family Native American Center take shape, but in reality, people
nationwide are following the progress of this building.</P>
<P>"They are all very excited about the opening," said UM tribal liaison Linda
Juneau, who recently returned from the National Indian Education Conference
where other colleges said they are looking to UM's Native American Center as a
model for their campuses.</P>
<P>"Montana has created a lot of excitement," she said.</P>
<P>With 98 percent of the construction complete, only minor electrical work
remains and the landscaping, which is weather permitting. The chain link fence
will likely come down mid-April, and the dedication ceremony is scheduled for
May 13, the Thursday before UM's spring commencement.</P>
<P>The building is meant to honor Montana tribes and Native American students on
campus, although it is open to all on campus. Everything from the landscaping to
the shape of the building to the east-facing entrance was done with purpose and
Montana's 12 Indian tribes in mind.</P>
<P>***</P>
<P><STRONG>The newest addition,</STRONG> occupying the last bit of green space
on the Oval, is also the first certified energy-efficient building at UM.</P>
<P>Ensuring energy efficiency and sustainability also meets cultural goals, said
Daniel Glenn, a member of the Crow Tribe and principal of Glenn & Glenn
Architects Engineers, PLLC. Glenn was the design architect. A&E Architects,
with offices in Missoula and Billings, were the architects of record.</P>
<P>"One of the most important aspects from the Native standpoint is the fact
that it's doing minimal damage to Mother Earth," Glenn said.</P>
<P>Eighty-five percent of the construction waste was diverted from the landfill,
said Todd Stenerson, project superintendent with Jackson Contractor Group of
Missoula. The bathrooms even include showers - to encourage biking and
walking.</P>
<P>Rocks dug up from the site were used as retaining walls in place of concrete.
And UM encouraged contractors to purchase materials locally to reduce the carbon
footprint, said Jameel Chaudhry, the university's project manager.</P>
<P>The handicapped-accessible building will house the Native American Studies
department and American Indian Student Services. It is home to four classrooms,
one conference room, 12 office spaces, a student lounge and student meeting
rooms.</P>
<P>***</P>
<P><STRONG>The building was designed</STRONG> around the concept of a 12-sided
dodecagon rotunda, one side representing each of the dozen tribes in Montana.
The name of each tribe is listed in a circular fashion around the rotunda.</P>
<P>Parfleche patterns representing each tribe are etched and stained into the
floor. A wall of windows allows for a panoramic view of the Oval, Main Hall and
Mount Sentinel.</P>
<P>It's the heart of the building, and it seemed appropriate that it face the
heart of the campus: the Oval, Chaudhry said.</P>
<P>Standing in the rotunda is reminiscent of a tepee or sweat lodge, with a
circle on the floor constructed partly from a salvaged larch tree cut on site,
and a skylight in the ceiling. Logs salvaged from the Clark Fork River near the
historic Bonner sawmill hold the building erect.</P>
<P>A long, skinny eastern-facing skylight represents the slit in the buffalo
hide of a tepee that provides air and light, and the main entrance to the
building faces east. Not only is it traditional practice to honor the rising
sun, but often plains Indians would face their tepees east to protect their
homes from the prevailing westerly winds, Glenn said.</P>
<P>While a wall of windows facing the Oval seems counterintuitive to the idea of
energy efficiency because of the loss of heat, windows allow natural light and
good views, which increase work productivity. Plus, west-facing windows will
help heat the rotunda in the winter, Chaudhry said. It's a balancing act, he
said.</P>
<P>***</P>
<P><STRONG>University officials</STRONG> and architects consulted every tribe in
the state, soliciting input about how the building should look and feel. The
goal was to find universal symbols of importance shared among all Montana
tribes, Glenn said.</P>
<P>The circle is universally recognized and a theme throughout the building, he
said. It's symbolic of the circle of life and the interconnectivity of all
things. It's not only the shape of tepees and sacred lodges, but it's also the
shape of the moon and path of the stars and sun.</P>
<P>There was some debate over how to make the Native American Center blend with
the rest of the buildings on campus while still making it uniquely and boldly
Native American. The orange-red bricks didn't sit well with some Indian elders,
whose ancestors were hauled off to government-run boarding schools constructed
with brick much like those used in other UM buildings.</P>
<P>Architects went with a red concrete block with a rough outer edge to make it
look more like rock, Chaudhry said, but still blend with the other brick
buildings.</P>
<P>Standing in the foyer of the new Native American Center, Juneau can't help
but feel more at ease. Maybe it's the sunlight shining through the large windows
or the earth-tone wall colors or the Salish floral Bitterroot pattern that runs
along the floor - close to Mother Earth.</P>
<P>Whatever it is, "there's a calming effect," she said. "It's meant to feel
like home."</P>
<P>Reporter Chelsi Moy can be reached at 523-5260 or at
chelsi.moy@missoulian.com.</P></DIV></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>