President Elizabeth Cantwell and Provost T. Chris Riley-Tillman became the fifth president and third provost to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Native American Advisory Board to the President during the board’s biannual meeting last Friday.
The MOU, first signed by President Sam Smith in 1997, is a formal agreement of cooperation between Washington State University and signatory tribes intended to strengthen relationships and improve the quality of educational support provided to Native American students.
During her introductory remarks to the advisory board, President Cantwell emphasized the need for continued investment in relationships with regional tribes, “I am particularly committed to enabling this relationship between the university and our tribal nation partners to learn and inform our own narrative about who we are,” she said. “In a fraught world, we are obligated to go back to our own narrative about what we can do, who we serve, and how we do that through relationships like this. That is something we desperately need.”
In a fraught world, we are obligated to go back to our own narrative about what we can do, who we serve, and how we do that through relationships like this. That is something we desperately need.
Elizabeth Cantwell, system president
Washington State University
Members of the advisory board welcomed President Cantwell and reiterated the importance of working hand-in-hand to learn, respect, and honor Native life while conducting meaningful research and educating students who will go on to serve their tribes upon graduation.
“Tribes have struggled to maintain who we are since creation,” said Wendell Jim of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. “But we’re still here. We’re still here.”
Honoring President Schulz
The day-long meeting commenced with a brief ceremony recognizing the contributions of WSU’s 11th President, Kirk Schulz, and his work with the Native American Advisory Board.
“Under President Schulz’s leadership, we’ve seen significant progress in tribal government relations,” said Zoe Higheagle Strong, tribal liaison to the president. “We’ve strengthened tribal research, policies, and practices; expanded support for Native American student services; and deepened our ties with tribes across the region.”
President Schulz expressed his gratitude for the work of Higheagle Strong and the counsel of the advisory board, citing the growth of the number of Native-affiliated faculty, staff, and students as well as the development of the Native Coug Scholars Fund, a scholarship program that received $1.7 million in one-time state appropriations in the last budget biennium. WSU has requested $2.2 million to further support the program in the current biennium, and the recently released state and house operating budget proposals include full funding on a temporary basis for the next two years.
The meeting also featured a showcase of university-led Native American research and programs and an update from Provost Riley-Tillman.
More information about WSU’s Office of Tribal Relations and its ongoing initiatives is available online.
