PSU Magazine Spring 2004

art of the Earth and part of the Sky– a poetic and apt description of the an and architecture of the Universitys new Native American Student and Commu– nity Center. Bronze sculptures appear to emerge out of rock, etched moon faces Ooat on glass, and art prints of Little Hawk raise and roll over the paper landscape. This art is integrated into a building dug into the ground and crowned with a ring of poles and a pyramid of light reaching up into the sky. ' e built the vision of the students and the dream of the ative American community," says Don Stastny, the lead designing architect from StastnyBrun Architects, Inc. Stastny collaborated with architect David Sloan (of Navajo decent) and landscape designer Brian McCormack ( ez Perce). he infusion of contemporary Native American arts into the buildings archi– tecture and landscape gives the center a unique look and feel, and it is an 12 PSU MAGAZINE SPRING 2004 unprecedented art collection for a cam– pus building. Emerging and well-known Native American artists created the new and commissioned pieces. Stastny esti– mates that the final market value for the art, which was bought through dona– tions, could be as much as $850,000. any ative American cultures are represented in the structure, grounds, and art, but the true worth of the new center, says Stastny, is how it becomes part of the community and the commu– nitys life. he Portland metropolitan region is home to 14,000 American Indian and Alaska Native people. As the only facil– ity of its kind in the area, the center will provides a place for Native Americans to gather and share their culture and traditions. For Native students, the cen– ter is a cultural home supporting their enrollment at PSU and enhancing their academic studies with classrooms, a computer room, and meeting spaces. The University offers a number of courses with a Native American empha– sis and educational programs, including the Institute for Tribal Government. he Native American Student and Community Center project began as a vision conceived by many generations of Portland State students, and became a reality with a maJor gift from Jean Valium and from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund. Art in the center was made possible through gifts from Penny Knight, Junki and Linda Yoshida, PGE Foundation, Keren Brown Wilson, Jeannine Cowles, Jack and Kate Mills, Bank of America Foundation, John and Jane Emrick, Henry L. Hillman Jr. Foundation, Dan Wieden, Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation, Nez Perce Tribe, and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Many others, too numerous to list, contributed to the centers art fund. ours for the public to visit the center at 710 SWJackson Street are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. -Kathryn Kirkland .