On Oct. 14 at 3:30 p.m., NAU will hold the grand opening of the new Native American Cultural Center. For one year students have walked by the construction waiting to see what lies inside the uniquely shaped building. This Friday, they can see the final product that President John Haeger says will give the campus “great distinction.”
For four years NAU worked with Native American Student Services (NASS), Arizona Board of Regents member Luann Leonard and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians to create a place where, according to Regent Leonard, any student can have a safe place to study and learn about Native American culture.
“It’s a gathering place for the general population that wants to learn more about native culture. It will be open for everybody and a great place to gather”
Heager also agrees that all could benefit from this new building.
“This could be a great addition to campus. It’s not just for Native Americans, it’s for other students to learn about the cultures; it goes both ways.”
It is also appropriate because of NAU’s location and proximity to Arizona’s reservations. According to the NAU website, it is one of the top rated colleges for Native American students. Additionally, Flagstaff is home to such tribes as Navajo, Hopi, Havasupai, Kaibab Paiute and Hualapai.
Included in the drum-shaped cultural center will be a large meeting room, a kitchen, two outdoor meditation spaces, an outdoor patio and perhaps most unique of the building, a designated room for ceremonial burnings. This room, in its state of the art design, will allow students to perform a common Native American act of purification through cedar burning without setting off any fire or smoke alarms. Many rooms will allow a view of the peaks, a sacred ground to many tribes.
Haeger says that the project idea was born around 10 years ago but did not really come into fruition until about four years ago.
“It probably goes back four years ago when I committed to Native American groups in Flagstaff that if they raised half the money NAU would play the other half.”
This decade in the making project is finally finished and hopeful students will be able to use the building following the ribbon cutting ceremony and silent auction on Oct. 14. It promises to be a meaningful ceremony with guest speakers like President Haeger, Regent Leonard and unnamed tribal leaders.
