Tribal college expands with dedication of cultural center (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Article published Jun 2, 2005
Tribal college expands with dedication of cultural center

By KAREN OGDEN
Tribune Regional Editor
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050602/NEWS01/506020307/1002

FORT BELKNAP AGENCY — With a naming ceremony and community feed, the
Fort Belknap Tribes dedicate a spacious new cultural learning center
today.

The 7,000-square-foot building on the Fort Belknap College campus is a
milestone in efforts to preserve the heritage and fading native
languages of the reservation's Assiniboine and Gros Ventre people.

"This has been our dream to have a building that actually focuses on our
own culture here at Belknap," said FBC President Carole Falcon-Chandler.

Trimmed in stained wood and rock, the rustic-style building will house
the college's first full-day language immersion school for elementary
grades.

In addition to standard classroom space, the $1.2 million facility,
funded by a variety of grants, features a large meeting room, office
space, a kitchenette and a circular-shaped "round room" for Native
American studies classes.

A climate-controlled archive room will preserve historic photographs,
audio and videotapes of elders and historic tribal documents. Fireproof
safes also will protect precious items.

"The building itself is a wonderful addition, but it also represents the
heart of what the college is all about," said Scott Friskics,
development specialist for the college. "It's right in the middle of
campus. It sort of embodies the college's mission to maintain and
promote the cultural integrity of the tribes."

Two tribes share the Fort Belknap Reservation, the Assiniboine and the
Gros Ventre, also called White Clay or "Ah-Ah-Nee-Nin."

Only a dozen or so native White Clay speakers remain, and the
Assiniboine language also is endangered.

The new building creates a permanent home for the college's White Clay
Immersion School — an effort to pass the language on to new generations
before it vanishes forever.

Pupils will receive a contemporary education in the three R's,
supplemented with White Clay language whenever possible, said Lynette
Chandler, the school's director.

The first students will include second- and third-graders who have
studied in a part-time White Clay language program since they were in
the Head Start program.

The college is in the process of hiring three teachers for the K-8
program, Chandler said. At least two will have bachelor's degrees in
elementary education and at least one will be fluent in White Clay.

"We are going to give them everything they need to become the next
generation of speakers, of educators, of leaders," she said. "This is
the last stand for the Gros Ventre language."

The college also plans to offer Assiniboine, or Nakoda, language
classes, Falcon-Chandler said.

The new building also will house the college-level American Indian
Studies Program, headed by Sean Chandler.

Sean Chandler is Carole Falcon-Chandler's son and Lynette Chandler's
husband.

Falcon-Chandler said that her son and daughter-in-law are uniquely
qualified for the posts. Both have master's degrees in Native American
Studies from Montana State University-Bozeman.

Grant funding for the building came from a variety of sources.

The American Indian College Fund gave $700,000 from donors including the
Lilly Endowment, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Tierney
Family Foundation.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the
project a $400,000 grant.

Funding also included a $25,000 grant from the WK Kellogg Foundation and
a $50,000 grant from USDA Rural Development.

Sean Chandler, who is also a professional artist, did much of the design
work on the building, incorporating cultural elements.

Ceramic tile work on the floors includes designs from parfleche and
buffalo hide paintings that Chandler studied with his father, who is
also an artist.

The lobby has the feeling of an Indian dance arbor, with carpeted
benches where visitors can watch a short film featuring interviews with
elders.

War bonnet designs in the building symbolize success and prosperity,
Chandler said.

"The overall building depicts our culture, but we have to succeed in
today's world as well," he said. "My father calls education the new
buffalo or today's buffalo — where we can get everything we need to
survive from education."