New NAC at UM

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Full circle: UM's Payne Family Native American Center nears completion 
By CHELSI MOY of the Missoulian | Posted: Tuesday, March 9, 2010  11:13 pm 
 
 
 
(http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/missoulian.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/a/ac/3e7/aac3e7cc-2bda-11df-ae8a-001cc4c03286.image.jpg?_dc=
1268180403)  
>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  
 
    *    
(http://www.missoulian.com/news/local/article_3506da44-2c0c-11df-8943-001cc4c03286.html#2)  
    *    
(http://www.missoulian.com/news/local/article_3506da44-2c0c-11df-8943-001cc4c03286.html#3) 




 
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. 
"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. 
"Montana has created a lot of excitement," she said. 
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. 
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. 
*** 
The newest addition, occupying the last bit of green space  on the Oval, is 
also the first certified energy-efficient building at UM. 
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. 
"One of the most important aspects from the Native standpoint is the fact  
that it's doing minimal damage to Mother Earth," Glenn said. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
*** 
The building was designed 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. 
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. 
It's the heart of the building, and it seemed appropriate that it face the  
heart of the campus: the Oval, Chaudhry said. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
*** 
University officials 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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
Whatever it is, "there's a calming effect," she said. "It's meant to feel  
like home." 
Reporter Chelsi Moy can be reached at 523-5260 or at  
chelsi.moy at missoulian.com.
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