After two months of consultation, the University administration and the Many Nations Longhouse have reached a compromise on the design of the proposed East Campus Residence Hall.
The design process for the new $75 million residence hall was stalled in November, when Longhouse members complained the building would infringe on many of their traditional ceremonies. However, after meetings with the nine federated Indian tribes of Oregon, as well as a prominent Native American architect, both sides say they are ready to move forward.
Under the revised plan, the location of the residence hall will be slightly shifted to accommodate a 60 foot-wide corridor, which will allow eastern sunlight — an integral part of many Native American ceremonies — to reach the Longhouse.
“It’s a happy resolution in that everyone who looks at that the schematics says that it makes a wonderful, wide new pathway to a cultural area,” Executive Assistant to the University President Dave Hubin said.
In the previous design, the corridor would only have been 30 feet wide with trees lined through the middle.
The new design also features what Hubin called an “expression place” — a circle, about 35 feet wide, where native ceremonies and less formal meetings can occur. Standing at the site of the proposed expression place, one will be able to clearly see the rising sun, even during the summer solstice.
A basketball court was originally planned in its place.
Gordon Bettles, the steward of the Longhouse, said the new design will give the Longhouse “back our original boundaries.”
The space buffer will also give the Longhouse room to expand in the future, should the opportunity arise.
Hubin said the plans are being written up to protect the Longhouse and surrounding area from future development.
“The campus is going to grow in that direction,” Hubin said. “President Lariviere wants to make sure that communication and consultation remains good.”
The Campus Planning Committee has tentatively scheduled a meeting for Feb. 4 to review the new schematic design and open space framework for the surrounding area. Hubin said he is confident it will go smoothly.
“The general feeling is that it’s something the committee will happily accommodate,” Hubin said. “My next charge is to carry to the committee a message incorporating in writing the ways in which the Longhouse will be protected.”
Bettles said the Longhouse and the nine tribes were generally happy with the compromise. However, he was disappointed by the need for the compromise in the first place.
“The process, as it was before, ignored comments from the Longhouse, which is not only disrespectful but ignores our rights,” Bettles said. “Through the process of negotiation, the University finally made it a priority to listen to the Longhouse and include our concerns in the ending design.”
It was a point that Hubin was quick to concede.
“One of the things that President Lariviere was clear about was that we know we can do better in terms of exchanging information to honor tradition,” Hubin said.
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