Dive Brief:
- A more than 20-year project to build a longhouse at the University of Washington’s Seattle campus to help increase the Native student and faculty populations on campus has been completed and is set to open Thursday.
- The university raised $10.6 million with the help of a dozen Native American nations, the State of Washington, and individual donors for the project, Indian Country reports.
- The longhouse will provide a space for the elder tribe community to gather with faculty and students, sharing stories and lessons, helping everyone maintain ties to Native culture while contributing to the wider UW campus.
Dive Insight:
Native Americans make up a very small percentage of the U.S. population and a disproportionately smaller percentage of the university population. According to retention and graduation rate data cited by Indian Nation, Native American students fall behind their peers of other cultures on both measures. This attempt by the University of Washington to make its campus a more inviting home to Native students and faculty members may improve the completion rates for this population. That is what the university hopes, at least. The longhouse represents only the second one of its kind to be built in Seattle since the late 1800s, according to Indian Country. For other campuses serving this population, the UW project may be one to watch.