May 19, 2003

Contact: Leslie J. Webb (509-963-1685/fax 509-963-3561/e-mail: webble@cwu.edu)

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Art and artifact exhibits, lectures, traditional and modern music, dance performances and Indian foods will be among the features at Central Washington University’s “Indian Country: Honoring the Past and Building New Traditions,” May 27-30.

The event is part of CWU President Jerilyn S. McIntyre’s yearlong focus on diversity and multiculturalism on the Ellensburg campus. It will highlight past and current contributions of American Indians, explore issues important to American Indian tribal sovereignty, and present traditional and modern music, art and dance of the indigenous people of North America.

“This will be a wonderful opportunity to educate the university community and general public about issues related to native peoples and cultures,” Leslie Webb, CWU diversity education center director and member of the “Indian Country” organizing committee, says.

“With everything that is planned, we’ll have something for everyone.”

“Indian Country” begins Tuesday, May 27. Activities that day will include:

• an opening ceremony and blessing at noon in the Samuelson Union Building (SUB) Pit;
• presentation of Native American research projects at 3:30 p.m. in the SUB Yakama Room; and,
• at 7 p.m., “Honoring the Past and Building New Traditions in Dance and Music” in the SUB Cesar Chavez Theatre.

• “The History of the Kansa Indian: A Plains Indian Tribe” will be discussed at noon in the Yakama Room;
• “Wanapum Heritage,” featuring the Wanapum Heritage Discovery Unit -- a 40-foot motor home containing artifacts, photos and information about traditional and present Wanapum life – will be presented at 4 p.m. in the SUB outdoor amphitheatre; and,
• at 7 p.m. in the SUB Cesar Chavez Theatre, an American Indian issues symposium will look at three matters: Indian mascots, gaming, and water rights and salmon recovery.

• Yakama dancers will present “Our Beloved Children” at noon in the SUB Pit;
• Indian residential schools will be discussed at 1 p.m. in the Yakama Room;
• the presentation “Successful Traditional Living in the New Millennia” will be held in the Yakama Room at 2 p.m.; and,
• at 7 p.m., “An Evening of Art and Dance” is planned for the Cesar Chavez Theatre.

• at 5 p.m., a salmon bake will be held in the SUB Fountain Room. Tickets are $5.50 for the meal, which will also include baked potatoes, corn on the cob, corn bread, fruit cobbler and beverages; and,
• at 6:30 p.m. in the Fountain Room and Club Central, Yakama Nation skits and a dance performance by the Makah Nation will be held.

With the exception of the salmon bake, all events are free. “Indian Country: Honoring the Past and Building New Traditions” is sponsored by the CWU chapter of American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), office of the president, division of student affairs and enrollment management, diversity education center, and office of alumni relations.

For more information, or for persons of disability to arrange for reasonable accommodation, call (509) 963-1685, or (for the hearing impaired) TDD (509) 963-2143.

Back to the 'News & Headlines' page.