Plateau Peoples Conference Planned at Washington State University

PULLMAN, Wash. — Faculty, staff and the Native American Advisory Board to the President of Washington State University, are planning the first university conference dedicated to the recognition, celebration and preservation of traditional cultures of the Plateau Peoples.

The conference, “Honoring the Heritage of the Plateau Peoples: Past, Present and Future,” will be September 29-30 on the WSU campus in Pullman.

“The timing of the event adds tremendous relevance,” said Patsy Whitefoot, member of the Yakama Nation. Whitefoot was a 2003 winner of WSU’s outstanding woman award and serves on the Native American Advisory Board to WSU President V. Lane Rawlins.

“I think the Plateau Peoples conference is timely given what’s going on in Indian country today,” she said. “The National Museum of the American Indian is opening at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the week before the conference. It’s also timely considering world events. It’s important that people reflect on what’s going on in the world, including Indian country.”

According to organizers, the conference is attracting interest and commitment from tribal elders and leaders, students, researchers, educators, professionals and community members interested in historical and contemporary issues that impact Plateau tribes.

“I don’t know anything quite like this in the Northwest that has focused on the people of the Plateau,” said Mary Collins, conference coordinator. 

Collins said she sees the conference forums and presentations falling in to four broad categories, including health, education, natural resource management and the preservation of language, history and culture.

The conference comes as the WSU College of Liberal Arts continues work to fund and establish the Plateau Center for American Indian Studies. The center is envisioned to be a central place for scholarship related to native peoples and a place that can serve tribal needs. Collins is also coordinator of Plateau Center Planning and predicts the search for a director will begin in early 2005.

“We have authorization to hire a director,” Collins said. “Our planning group is now drafting the role of that position. The Native American Advisory Board to President Rawlins, the Native American Alumni Association, the Native American students group, native staff and faculty and tribal representatives are all instrumental in planning the center, and we will continue to count on their input and advice as we draft the job description for this new position.”

Plateau Peoples conference presentations and lectures will be in the Compton Union Building and are open to the public. Registration fees entitle attendees to conference literature, two days of lectures and meals, including a traditional dinner. For more information, visit the conference Web site at https://emmps.wsu.edu/plateauconference/index.html.