Photo: The Evergreen State College’s Longhouse, Shayna Clayton
by Daniel Mootz
The Evergreen Longhouse, tucked away on the edge of campus, is not allowing anyone in due to recent safety concerns. According to Christine Hoffman, Evergreen’s public relations outreach manager, a “heating and hot water utility failure” is to blame. The underground line in question connects the Longhouse to the SEM I building, which was not affected, Hoffman said.
The mechanical failure occurred on Feb. 11, 2020, and the Longhouse has been closed ever since. The unique history and iconic importance of the Longhouse asks us to rethink the infrastructure and ecology of campus upkeep, in order to ensure the possibility of growth, and comfort, for future generations of students.
Mary Ellen Hillaire, of the Lummi tribe from northwest Washington, became Evergreen’s first woman and Native American faculty member in 1971, according to Archives West. She created the Native American Studies Program in 1972, as stated in the Rivers of Knowledge brochure which can be found on Evergreen’s website, and also began advocating for an on-campus space dedicated to cultural literacy and the empowerment of First Peoples. Her organizing efforts eventually led Evergreen to become the first public college in the country to offer an Indigenous center and cultural hub. Hillaire’s vision of the Longhouse was “ … not a place to learn about indians, but a place for indians to learn,” according to Archives West. Sadly, Hillaire passed some 13 years before the building was constructed, although her contribution to Native life and representation on Evergreen’s Olympia campus is immeasurable, and remains relevant today.
In 1995, the s’gʷi gʷi ʔ altxʷ House of Welcome officially opened, along with an ethnobotanical garden outside. Since then, a number of related structures have been built nearby to accompany the Longhouse, such as the Carving Studio and the Fiber Arts Studio, completed recently and currently serving as the de facto base of operations for Longhouse staff. As of now, classes and events have been moved to other parts of the Indigenous Arts Campus, and there is no real timeline for repair. “It depends on the contractors being able to do the work safely,” Hoffman said.
The intercultural flow of activities generated by Evergreen’s Longhouse is a reminder of the power of the academy to acknowledge the original stewards of this land, and to support the advancement of their cause. Drum circles, dancers, weavers and crafters, musicians, writers, speakers and directors have all gathered here to enjoy and honor the space, proclaiming a proud lineage of skill sharing, culture, and tradition. The gift of artistic labor is the most emotionally reviving experience there is and the commitment of Native/Indigenous creators in the area to preserve that is an enduring strength to the community.
Ultimately, Evergreen needs to embrace a vision of sustainability and restoration, not just bare minimums that end up hurting students, staff, and college prestige. In the long run, artists in residency and students in the Native Pathways Program should not have to relocate because they depend on SEM I’s water heater. The Longhouse is a priority—it is crucial that it remain open and accommodating throughout the year. Despite the unsettling reality of coded racism, and the vicious opposition experienced by some early advocates of the Indigineous Arts Campus, we cannot stand by and let the deterioration of Evergreen’s facilities impede the pursuit of knowledge so important to its foundation. If that means a new utility source, separate from the main campus, yet able to serve the Longhouse’s energy needs, then that should be on the table for discussion. The Indigenous Arts Campus is a development in progress, so there is a lot of room for fresh ideas regarding its future.
The Longhouse was designed by Seattle-based architect Johnpaul Jones, and was overseen by Evergreen alumnus Colleen Jollie, according to The News Tribune. In an article written by Lisa Pemberton for the 20th anniversary celebration of the Longhouse, Mary Ellen Hillaire is remembered as having “ … left clear instructions for Evergreen’s longhouse: It needed to be a modern, permanent structure, not a dirt-floored shed-type building.” This was achieved by Jones’ landscaping, as well as Jollie’s expertise, however, the internal systems of the building were apparently linked to a pre-existing generator, and were not given their own, independent source of utility. The problem is not necessarily that the water heater went offline, which can happen anywhere (especially in the dorms), but that there is no water heater for the Longhouse, or the Indigineous Arts Campus (IAC), to manage for itself. This is not a problem of design, or oversight, but of resources, time, and imposed limitations on preventative measures for potential structural issues. According to The News Tribune, a “cast glass studio” is in the planning stages of being built on the IAC, further adding to the need to consolidate the disparate infrastructural network that exists there now, and in doing so help enable a truly sovereign campus-within-a-campus.
In a short documentary film called “House of Welcome,” published last April and available on the Youtube channel ‘longhousevideos,’ Hillaire can be seen describing the purpose of a Native American education and arts center as one that defines “ … the practical responsibility of hospitality.” In this way, the Longhouse is a true success story, with the exception of this year’s structural trouble. Social trouble, on the other hand, has followed the Longhouse since the very beginning. Institutional racism on the part of the Board of Directors, and implicit “ … fear, distress, and misunderstanding … ” about what a Longhouse on campus might give rise to was directly intended to discourage the planning committee, and sink the project, according to Rainer Hasenstab, retired faculty emeritus. In response to this backlash, Evergreen students took matters into their own hands by holding fundraisers and donating a portion of their graduation fees to construction efforts. Over time, more and more came to support the idea of a Longhouse, and through its creation came to recognize its power. In Hillaire’s own words, the Longhouse is intended to “ … maintain the steady voice of Indian culture in this land.” And it is in that spirit that the college must act to reopen and reinforce the integrity of a building that means so much.
