15 Year OverviewBarbara Aston

Special Assistant to the Provost/Tribal Liaison

1997 Signing of the MOU

...Whereas,

Washington State University

and the Signatory Tribes

wish to create a structure

to strengthen the relationships between them,

and to improve the quality of

educational services and opportunities

provided to Native American students

at Washington State University...

Subsequent Signings

Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs

November 13, 1998

Subsequent Signings

Confederated Salish and Kootenai TribesNovember 17, 1998

Signed in the tribal council chambers in

Pablo, Montana.

Subsequent Signings

Cowlitz Tribe October 28, 2002

Regular meetings over the years

The first Native American Advisory Board meeting met April 1998.

Two to three meetings have been held every year since.

Advisory Board Meeting, Spring 2000

Early Activities

• Three Language Roundtables

• Two Language Conferences

• Kellogg Foundation Partnership 2020

Early Activities

Native Women’s Writing

Workshops

Creating the Plateau Center

• Plateau Center planning committee formed

• Dr. Mary Collins chaired first Plateau Conference 2004

Creating the Plateau Center

• Interim Director, Dr. Ron Pond, appointed in 2005

• Hosted second Plateau Conference and first Native American Research Expo

• Search for permanent director initiated, closed without hire.

• Second Interim Director, Barbara Aston, appointed in 2006

Creating the Plateau Center

Under leadership of second Interim Director:• Plateau Center moved from College of

Liberal Arts to the Provost Office• Permanent budget established• Space identified for Plateau Center in

Cleveland Hall• Plateau Affiliate program established• Plateau Fellows program established• Mini-grant program for affiliate faculty

established

Creating the Plateau Center

• Third Plateau Conference coordinated by Phillip Cash Cash, First Plateau Fellow

• Two more Native American Research Expos hosted

Plateau Faculty Mini-Grant Highlight

Anthropology Protocols for Research and Tribal Interaction

Highlight: Marc Beutel, Plateau Affiliate

Lake Roosevelt students attend National AISES Conference with Dr. Beutel.

Highlight: Library web site and Plateau People’s Portal Project

Inter-Institutional MOU

…to strengthen the instruction and scholarship about, and services to Native Americans offered by each institution…

March 24, 2008

Lewis-Clark State College

North Idaho College

Northwest Indian College

University of Idaho

Washington State University

Special Events

Special Events

WSU Arboretum & Wildlife Conservation Center

Plateau Center Faculty & Staff

Michael HollomanDirectorJuly 2010

Jeanette Weaskus

Clinical FacultyWSU Grad

August 2011

Renee HoltGraduate Assistant

Clearinghouse for

Native Teaching and

LearningAugust 2011

Kim ChristenDirector of

Digital Projects2011

Plateau Center Current Initiatives

• Planning for AIST minor and certificate curriculum to infuse Nation-Building concepts

• Expanding AIST course offerings through inter-institutional partnership

• Expanding Plateau People’s Web Portal through NEH grant to include collections from MAC

• Partnering with College of Education Clearinghouse on Native Teaching and Learning for outreach activities with pre-service teachers and teacher training

College of Education Initiatives

• Creation of Clearinghouse on Native Teaching and Learning

• WSU/Coeur d’Alene Education Partnership

• Pacific Northwest Center for Mestizo and Indigenous Research and Outreach

Susan Banks-JosephAssociate Professor

Lali McCubbinAssociate Professor

Paula Groves PriceAssociate Professor

Speech and Hearing Sciences

• 20 master's degrees and 23 bachelor's degrees to Native students, 2 have gone on to receive doctorates.

• Graduates work in tribal early childhood and head start programs, schools serving Indian communities, and health care settings.

Ella InglebretProject Director

Cultural Interfacing:

Preparation of Personnel to

Work with Native Americans

• Graduated 42% of all Native speech-language pathologists and 40% of all Native audiologists in the Northwest.

Native American Health Sciences

Robbie PaulDirector

Permanent state-funded

positionSummer 2000

Na-ha-shnee Summer Camp Participants

• 17th Annual Na-ha-shnee

• Over 350 high school

students have attended

• 70% have gone on to

college

Native American Health Sciences

Graduates:• 51 BSN Nurses• 70% returned home to respective tribes or are working

in a tribal clinic• 8 Master’s level nurses

Current Native American students: • Pre-nursing: 15• Pre-health science degree programs: 10• Nursing: 3• Master’s: 1• PhD: 1• Doctor of Nurse Practitioner: 2• Pharmacy: 1• Speech and Hearing: 1

Trude Smith Plateau Scholarship Recipients

Native American Student Center

Franci TaylorRetention Counselor

2012-13 Peer Mentors

• Student Mentor Program

• Student advocacy and support

• Scholarship and financial aid assistance

• Campus and community support and referrals

• Academic advising• Computer access• Free academic

tutoring• Workshops• Cultural events• Inter-cultural

opportunities

Native American Cultural House

• Potlucks• Drum

Practice• Talking

Circles• Sewing and

Crafts• Special

Events

Tribal Liaison Office

Barbara AstonSpecial

Assistant to the Provost/Tribal

LiaisonFeb 1998

Faith CharloPrincipal

Assistant to the Tribal Liaison

Feb 2012

Autumn JonesNative

American Outreach

CoordinatorOct 2012

Early Outreach

• NY’EHE (Native Youth Exploring Higher Education)

NY’EHE 201214th Annual Summer Camp 477 students have participated

Recruitment

Campus visitsTribal community college fairsActive recruitment in tribal communities

Planning & Communications

• Website• Newslette

r• Marketing

Materials• Database

Management

Nation Building Curriculum

Thank You!!

Thank you to all for your commitment to increasing and improving

educational opportunities for and about Native Americans and for your

presence here today.