Transcript: Podcast #1
The Oak Savanna and ITECK Center: The Voices at the Intersection of ITECK and Architecture Series
0;00;05;12 – 00;00;18;28
Ron Acob
Hello and welcome to Dialogues presented by Designed for the Common Good. A resource that offers a collection of exchanges that are helping to shape perspectives and understanding in the space of community based design practices. I am your host, Ron Acob .
00;00;28;06 – 00;00;49;16
Ron Acob
In a city that we now call Portland, Oregon. Whether you’re a designer an educator, a student, or just your regular citizen, it only takes one look around our environment for us to recognize how our cities, traffic noises, pollution, and more contribute to an ever growing list of issues that many of us are having to grapple with today, like inequity, our public health and climate change.
00;00;50;06 – 00;00;55;22
Ron Acob
And I will also add that these challenges are experienced in different scales across many different communities globally.
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Ron Acob
But if you’re like me and you let your thoughts wander, you might find yourself asking, what was this place like if this wasn’t all here? And what other possible futures might we have if we didn’t find ourselves in these positions?
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Ron Acob
In this special two episode series, you will hear about the story of the Oak Savanna Project and explore what’s at the intersection of Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge and Architecture, and how that might inform something else like environmental stewardship, sustainable futures, and environmental and community led practices in architecture.
00;01;31;00 – 00;01;44;11
Ron Acob
To start us off, in today’s episode, I wanted to take some time to introduce our four storytellers who are all representatives and partners from the Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge Program, also known as ITECK at Portland State University.
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Ta’c meeywii. I’m Judy Bluehorse Skelton, Nimiipuu, Cherokee and Associate professor
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
in the Indigenous Nation Studies department here at Portland State
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
University.
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
I,have worked for many years in the Portland metro area in the fields of cultural education on behalf of either the Indian Education Office with Portland Public Schools. And in the last 20 years here at Portland State in Indigenous Nation Studies creating curriculum,
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
everything from contemporary issues and Indian country to Indigenous Women Leadership and,
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Indigenous Healing Practices
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
and
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
have always
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
had a passion and love for community and our plant relatives.
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
so I have found that over the last 30 years, my journey seems to be very much centered in reclaiming the urban forest for food, medicine, healthy lifeways, ceremony.
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
And that’s what I have the,
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
honor to be doing
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
today with so many wonderful people
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
and students.
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Emma Johnson
My name is Emma Johnson. I’m a Cowlitz Tribal member, and I currently work at Portland State University in our College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s office, where I am our ITECK Coordinator, which stands for Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge. But we say ITECK for sure because that’s a lot to say.
00;03;11;24 – 00;03;25;11
Emma Johnson
I made my way into this role from previously teaching with Judy Bluehorse Skelton in the Indigenous Nations Studies departments, which I did for about a year and a half before transitioning into the coordinator role.
00;03;26;15 – 00;03;36;26
Mendy Miller
My name is Mendy Miller, and I’m the ITECK Community Partner right now. I have been in that position for probably about a year, and before that I was an
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Mendy Miller
OS II, and that was located in the School of Gender, Race and Nations
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Mendy Miller
out of the Park Mill building.
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Mendy Miller
And that was more of in the office job. And my ITECK Community Partner job has been more flexible and out in the field.
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Athena Rilatos
Ch’ee-la, Athena Rilatos Waa ‘vm-nvsh-shi
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Athena Rilatos
Hello, I’m Athena Rilatos. I’m an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.
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Athena Rilatos
and I just recently graduated with my Masters of Architecture from Portland State University. before that, I, wrapped up a Bachelor’s of psychology here at Portland State and minored in Indigenous Nation Studies.
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Athena Rilatos
And, that’s where I really started getting involved with ITECK
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Athena Rilatos
got to learn,
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Athena Rilatos
alongside
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
.
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Athena Rilatos
then really
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Athena Rilatos
took to
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Athena Rilatos
being in community and just found myself, like, I wasn’t even in pursuit of a minor in Indigenous Nation Studies, but found myself always wanting to take every class I could and coming back because that’s where my community was.
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Athena Rilatos
and so that led me down my journey into ITECK
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Athena Rilatos
and bringing it into architecture.
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Ron Acob
Okay, to start us off in today’s episode, I’m taking you to the heart of the action. So I invite you to join me for a trip at the Oak Savanna and have a discussion with Judy as she tells us the journey to reclaiming the Oak Savanna site that began over more than a decade ago.
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Ron Acob
Judy.
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Ron Acob
Is it okay if I may.
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Ron Acob
Be kind of expand.
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Ron Acob
On that conversation.
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Ron Acob
A little bit.
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Ron Acob
More for folks who are not as familiar in the Oak Savanna and ITECK Center and what you and your students and so many of the.
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Ron Acob
Folks that have contributed to the transformation of this place.
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Ron Acob
Judy, could you give us a little bit of.
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Ron Acob
Context? on what is the Oak Savanna and ITECK Center here at Portland State University?
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
We are in Portland, Portland is in an Oak Savanna. In fact, the Willamette Valley is an Oak Savanna. And, we’ve been told there’s perhaps less than 1.5% left of the Oak Savanna. Obviously, Oaks are featured in that ecosystem. In that landscape.
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
the Oregon white oak,
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
who can live hundreds and hundreds of years and is, a source of a healthy, fat, healthy protein with the acorns.
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
but also that open, open Savanna, open prairie where our other plant relatives like, Camas, one of our beloved first foods that many other Native plants, that thrive and make up a Savanna,
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
some people might say a meadow. but it’s, if you drive along I-5 between Eugene and Nch’i-Wàna, the big river, Columbia River up here at Portland,
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
you’ll see that kind of open prairie, and you will see remaining White Oaks there, dotted along what might be farming.
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Now,
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
or other
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
land, practices. But, we are in that. And so the Oak Savanna on campus was recognized by students in my classes probably 14 years ago. We would come to this open space,
00;07;04;21 – 00;07;12;08
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
right in the center, right in the heart of campus. That was just an open field. We say just an open field.
00;07;12;10 – 00;07;35;12
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
But students, we gravitated to learn what we were observing. We watched the seasons change. students began to observe pollinators. who lives here? we recognize the gifts of not only our Native plants for health and healing, but also the gifts of those plants that like to come in in an urban setting.
00;07;36;22 – 00;07;37;11
Ron Acob
As Judy and.
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Ron Acob
I will continue to discuss.
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Ron Acob
She shared with me all the different activities and teachings she and her students had learned through observing the land and plant relatives as the seasons change, some of those that she had shared with me are recognizing how introduced plants healed the land and provided the environment for other plants to thrive and contribute to the disruption of traditional institutional tending.
00;07;57;28 – 00;08;02;12
Ron Acob
They also partnered up with campus facilities and bringing in logs and creating the place of.
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Ron Acob
sanctuary and gathering space.
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Ron Acob
students had envisioned that, all in all, had contributed to the ongoing transform mission to the Oak.
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Ron Acob
Savanna that we are now more familiar.
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Ron Acob
With today.
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Ron Acob
But as Judy put it .
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
In an essence, Oak Savanna.
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
often under threat across the country because it’s easy to put development on new housing, towns, highways, and consequently, we’ve lost a lot of that habitat. And what we recognized is how do we restore, refresh, protect this, this little piece here and expand throughout the urban forest?
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
And we have
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Throughout this episode, you’ll often hear ITECK or Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge, and you’ll hear Judy and others tell you what it is and how it shows up in all aspects of life that might be unfamiliar to how we might understand and view things from a western perspective.
00;09;01;18 – 00;09;34;13
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge is really a way of life. It’s a relational worldview, and that distinguishes it from western science immediately, we are all related. There isn’t a subject and an object. You’re not objective. observation is certainly critical. Taking the long observation and, ITECK means your, watching land, water, weather move across.
00;09;34;13 – 00;10;07;01
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
a space move across the land. throughout the seasons to see what’s happening here. Who likes to grow here, but also, what our responsibility and what our gifts are to bring. So it’s a very reciprocal relationship. It’s a very, intimate, people are invited to, not just research Camas and learn what its chemical constituents are or what’s the best time to, transplant or,
00;10;07;01 – 00;10;25;13
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
All of the other things important to know, but we miss a lot if we don’t go deeper and recognize that there’s there’s something there’s something more going on here and we’re going to miss it. And so Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge,
00;10;25;13 – 00;10;54;10
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
we wanted to be sure to leave the Cultural Knowledge in there. Ecological. We have found in the past 20 plus years or just TEK, Traditional Ecological Knowledge often has in the past been appropriated, misappropriated, leaving the people out, leaving the history of people, leaving the story of a place and the people together, and looking at technique
00;10;54;10 – 00;10;59;26
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
and looking at strategies can be helpful you’re managing land, managing forests.
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Right now, the U.S. Forest Service is looking at tribal management of forests because it’s so beneficial. It’s so different, but we want to make sure people bring the heart to it.
00;11;12;25 – 00;11;21;02
Ron Acob
But, what role does ITECK leadership have in addressing issues that many of us and other communities globally are facing, like climate change and inequities?
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Emma Johnson
ITECK really helps bridge that gap of making us feel connected to place and not separate from the environment, which we really need that connectivity moving forward to actually care for this.
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Emma Johnson
Ball, this globe that we live on. Right. because she shows up for us every day and not nearly enough of us show up for her. And it’s very evident of what the repercussions are of that.
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Emma Johnson
We’re seeing it today and we’ve seen it in the past, and it’s particularly being.
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Emma Johnson
Detrimental to Native and Indigenous communities because they’re on the front lines of those spaces. They’re losing their ancestral land bases. They’re losing access to traditional foods. they’re losing sacred sites because of the changes in climate. And so we’re here and we’re doing it because we need to, but we need partners in that.
00;12;21;25 – 00;12;27;18
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
many Indigenous languages will have a word for the good life when things are,
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
balanced and,
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
people are fed, people are healthy people. And,
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
the land or arc together and,
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
well, let’s see. Thriving, really. Ideally it’s about thriving, not just surviving, although one can survive and survivance is important. And certainly there’s lean times, drought times, when certain seeds just don’t, or certain animal friends don’t come back.
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
our elders, have
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
been reminding
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
us for a long time that it’s our responsibility to make sure Salmon come back. Well, we’ve done a lot of things that are impeding Salmon and western science, has
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
I don’t want to say allowed that to happen, but if you’re going to have western, if you’re going to have science,
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
it can’t be isolated from how we live and how we ensure
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
that future generations will have clean water. We’ll have, healthy foods, we’ll have access to our healthy medicines that will have access to dwellings.
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
And when we look around in our urban forest today, most people do not have access
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
to dwellings or shelter.
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
They do not have access to healthy foods or medicines and more and more around the world. one of the hardest things to access is healthy water. And so how can, discipline
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
that furthers research? somehow, it calls for a responsibility. We can research and look, but we are not outside of that. We we have that responsibility to to ensure that it’s there for for future generations.
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Judy Bluehorse Skelton
And ITECK is centered in ensuring that, those practices will be shared so that future generations will know how to live here in a good way.
00;14;35;28 – 00;14;54;29
Ron Acob
After my first few conversations I had with Judy and Emma. As a non-Native person, it was very clear and evident that to really engage and connect with ITECK, there’s a lot of ongoing learning and unlearning work to do. And it can start with decolonizing the mind and thinking beyond the linear western perspective to a relational one
00;14;54;29 – 00;15;03;09
Ron Acob
to live being in relation to the land, the water, and to all aspects of the natural world and our responsibilities within those relationships.
00;15;03;09 – 00;15;19;16
Ron Acob
But to get us back on track. Over the years, Judy, alongside Emma, has been stewarding these Indigenous ways of knowing that have been practiced since time immemorial and bringing them into the Indigenous Nation Studies and implementing them for Native and non-Native students at Portland State University.
00;15;19;16 – 00;15;34;14
Ron Acob
And in 2022, the Undergraduate ITECK certificate was created and fully integrated within the PSU curriculum. And Mandy tells us what the process was like co-organizing the ITECK certificate and Emma sharing with us what the ITECK certificate looks like.
00;15;35;18 – 00;16;03;04
Mendy Miller
So the ITECK certificate process was really, it was a great experience. And it was also really intense. it was a collaboration of staff, faculty and community. And we worked in a shared Google document and kind of all hours, you know, different people working at different times is kind of what I mean. And I feel like,
00;16;03;04 – 00;16;21;16
Mendy Miller
yeah, we were able to bring in so much history of Judy’s work into the ITECK certificate, and we were able to bring a lot of different perspectives by including so many people, and we were able to bring in courses that Judy’s been teaching here, like they weren’t.
00;16;21;16 – 00;16;29;27
Mendy Miller
I think there was maybe one new course, but most of the work is things that we had already been doing, but we were just putting them into a new program.
00;16;31;02 – 00;16;50;21
Emma Johnson
A lot of our activities are based upon getting students out on the land. And so we’ll go visit partner sites like the Bureau of Environmental Services at Shwakuk Wetlands, which is a site that is designated to be, restored for Indigenous community to gather and harvest and process plant relatives.
00;16;50;24 – 00;17;18;06
Emma Johnson
but we just bring our students there and they help do the restoration practices. And so we’ve built a Willow dome on site. We just recently planted Sweetgrass. we were weaving with Cattail out there, which was really fun. And then we’ll go to other sites like, the Native Gathering Gardens at Cully Park, which is a really big project that Judy worked on with one of our awesome colleagues, Shawna Zierdt, who’s from the Cow Creek Band, which is a Oregon tribe.
00;17;18;08 – 00;17;22;17
Emma Johnson
And that was a really big project over an old
00;17;22;17 – 00;17;38;27
Emma Johnson
like construction waste site. And so it was like a dump where people from construction sites would just take all of their construction waste. and they built like a membrane over it and then built a park and some like soccer fields and some park land.
00;17;38;27 – 00;17;42;25
Emma Johnson
and there’s an area designated for gathering gardens.
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Emma Johnson
And so we’ll take students there. And Judy tells the incredible story of how they went through that process and what it looked like for community and how it was not easy to work with different entities, but they were able to make it happen regardless.
00;17;56;07 – 00;18;02;08
Emma Johnson
and so like also getting students to understand like the bureaucracy, right, and working with different partners and governments
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Emma Johnson
and getting them to.
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Emma Johnson
Realize that
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Emma Johnson
they can set boundaries with that work. because it’s ITECK work is so important, but you have to make sure you’re taking care of yourself to do the good work that you want to do. And sometimes folks and ITECK related roles will get so, like overburdened with requests and things that it’s like harmful to them.
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Emma Johnson
And so we talk a lot about,
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Emma Johnson
like you can say not at this time, but thank you for thinking of me or, you know, that’s just not going to work. And here’s why. and we think that that’s really important. And we can use plants to help teach those things too, because plants are really good at setting boundaries.
00;18;45;14 – 00;19;11;17
Emma Johnson
And so we do activities like that. We’ll go visit those sites sometimes we’ll host sites here on site at the Oak Savanna. We do one every single term on the Oak Savanna, but we’ll also do smaller ones for our classes, and sometimes we’ll just share tea. Other times will refresh different areas in the site, say, pick up trash, just do some observation and see how plants are doing with different times of year.
00;19;11;19 – 00;19;27;25
Emma Johnson
and then sometimes our partners will just be like, we want to come out and see the site. And so we’ll ask students if they’re available and also host things like that and so that community based learning portion is a really, really big part of our classes because that’s like the goal. We want students to feel connected to land.
00;19;27;25 – 00;19;35;20
Emma Johnson
We want them to meet our partners and make those connections for themselves. And we want them to just, like, feel welcomed in general to these spaces.
00;19;36;24 – 00;19;47;04
Ron Acob
To further grasp the energy of this place and how it has continued to gather and welcome so many folks. We’ve got to hear stories from partners who have shared being involved in the ongoing transformation of the Oak.
00;19;47;06 – 00;19;48;24
Ron Acob
Savanna and ITECK Center.
00;19;49;28 – 00;20;08;16
Clifton Bruno
My name is Clifton Bruno I’m Wasco from up the Columbia River, and they relocated us to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. And my connection here is I’ve been helping them out with the Salmon bakes. And they’ll always ask me, occasionally ask me questions about what I thought.
00;20;09;09 – 00;20;22;03
Christine Bruno
Hi. My name is Christine Bruno, and my heritage is Basque Comanche and Irish. But I married this, river Indian over 40 years ago. So this is the culture we practice with our children and grandchildren. And,
00;20;22;03 – 00;20;37;04
Christine Bruno
we’ve been involved here at PSU since we remember the Native American Student Community Center being built. And then opening, we work with a nonprofit, and we were the first, community group to use the space.
00;20;37;04 – 00;20;49;05
Christine Bruno
And that was on, the weekend after the opening. So that was, you know, cool to be part of that. And we remember when this Oak Savanna project was just an idea
00;20;49;25 – 00;21;14;13
Christine Bruno
I look forward to the space becoming something as the plants grow and mature. as a place that people can come and find a little peaceful spot in nature here in the city and be able to, you know, close their eyes or keep their eyes open and just enjoy the beauty and the feel and the smells of being in nature, as they take a break from their classes or their jobs here on campus.
00;21;14;13 – 00;21;21;23
Christine Bruno
Or maybe they’re just visiting campus and just have a nice, peaceful place to be and connect with nature.
00;21;21;25 – 00;21;28;14
Clifton Bruno
And have put in along the freeway denser vegetation so the sound is absorbing.
00;21;28;14 – 00;21;43;19
Emma Jewell Cohen
My name is, Emma Jewell Cohen. I am Ashkenazi Jewish and European ancestry. And I’m a graduate from the Indigenous Nation and Native American Studies program at PSU.
00;21;43;19 – 00;21;57;05
Emma Jewell Cohen
so exciting that finally, you know, an institution, a colonial institution, is recognizing Indigenous Science and Ecological Knowledge as,
00;21;57;08 – 00;22;02;01
Emma Jewell Cohen
as an important. And the world, you know, is, is really starting to recognize
00;22;02;01 – 00;22;03;06
Emma Jewell Cohen
this wisdom,
00;22;03;06 – 00;22;13;25
Emma Jewell Cohen
these Scientific Practices and Ecological Practices that Indigenous people have been practicing since time immemorial, that they’re being acknowledged they’re being recognized.
00;22;13;25 – 00;22;14;14
Emma Jewell Cohen
And,
00;22;14;14 – 00;22;14;25
Emma Jewell Cohen
you know,
00;22;14;25 – 00;22;40;27
Emma Jewell Cohen
both the ITECK certificate and the Indigenous Nation and Native American studies major, which I both received at PSU, were not instated when I started at PSU. And so, like, I just want to uplift and like shout out to all the people who worked so hard and like got enough signatures and you know, like just talk to people like, this is important.
00;22;40;27 – 00;22;42;06
Emma Jewell Cohen
This it needs to happen.
00;22;42;06 – 00;22;52;24
Emma Jewell Cohen
I’m really excited for that land to, you know, have like, it would be so amazing to see more blooming Camas and, just all the,
00;22;52;24 – 00;22;56;09
Emma Jewell Cohen
all the plant relatives and all the people that will gather there,
00;22;59;21 – 00;23;11;13
Ron Acob
Coming up, we’ll be discussing the relationship between the Indigenous Nation Studies in the School of Architecture at Portland State University and diving deep into what is at the intersection of ITECK and architecture. After the break.
Audio Break
00;26;33;05 – 00;26;43;18
Ron Acob
Welcome back, listeners. As a reminder, we left off right after talking to Judy, Emma and Mandy about the Oak Savanna, ITECK and even got to hear some stories at the Oak Savanna from partners
00;26;44;03 – 00;26;50;21
Ron Acob
In the second half of this episode, you’ll hear a new voice come in and explore what is at the Intersection of ITECK and architecture.
00;26;51;22 – 00;27;05;07
Ron Acob
You might also hear the names Sergio Palleroni, Eric Giovanetti, Travis Bell, who are very important partners in the Center for Public Interest Design at Portland State University School of Architecture, which you’ll hear more about in the second episode of the series.
00;27;06;13 – 00;27;09;11
Ron Acob
But without further ado, let’s get back to where we left off.
00;27;13;06 – 00;27;26;22
Ron Acob
Over the span of six months, I had many conversations with folks at the Oak Savanna, attended meetings, and participated in the seasonal events hosted. And it didn’t take long to see that relationships are at the center of all the happenings at the Oak Savanna
00;27;26;22 – 00;27;37;15
Ron Acob
and in the spirit of bringing folks together. What might have stemmed from two people with two varying perspectives, yet shared a common vision, another relationship blossomed in the grounds of the Oak Savanna
00;27;37;15 – 00;27;49;00
Ron Acob
a relationship between the Indigenous Nation Studies and School of Architecture at PSU, and together take part in the transformation of the Oak savanna, particularly the revisioning of the ITECK center.
00;27;49;22 – 00;27;51;28
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
it’s a wonderful story of,
00;27;51;28 – 00;27;54;20
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
dreams and vision and,
00;27;54;20 – 00;27;56;13
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
excitement coming together,
00;27;56;13 – 00;28;00;23
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
here on the Oak Savanna before we knew there was going to be an ITECK Center.
00;28;00;23 – 00;28;09;15
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
years ago, Sergio had reached out to me about some work he was doing with, tribal community in Montana and looking at,
00;28;09;15 – 00;28;20;09
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
kind of addressing food sovereignty and creating a large kitchen and a place to store culturally significant plants and it was like, oh, we’re trying to do something like that.
00;28;20;09 – 00;28;23;05
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
That’s what we’re doing here in the urban center. And,
00;28;23;05 – 00;28;25;27
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
so that was when I first realized that Sergio,
00;28;25;27 – 00;28;37;28
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
as we continued to visit, had done and was doing a lot of work with Indigenous communities, both, in what’s called the United States today, but also around the world.
00;28;37;28 – 00;28;39;00
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
and so,
00;28;39;00 – 00;28;40;08
Speaker 2
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Before the pandemic
00;28;40;08 – 00;28;43;19
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Sergio, graciously agreed to come over and
00;28;43;19 – 00;28;44;27
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
walk the land.
00;28;44;27 – 00;28;47;23
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
And my colleagues and students at the time,
00;28;47;23 – 00;28;51;21
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Savahna Jackson and Sequoia Breck, we,
00;28;51;21 – 00;29;01;25
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
as Oak Savanna people and doing lots of projects together way before it became an ITECK certificate. we met Sergio here just to tour
00;29;01;25 – 00;29;08;27
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
what was called the Harrison Street building, and kind of like, what’s the weight bearing walls? Could we break out this wall?
00;29;08;27 – 00;29;20;28
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Could we add a bigger kitchen? And it was so exciting to have an expert walk through and say, oh yeah, you can. Here’s your weight bearing wall, the potential here. And,
00;29;21;14 – 00;29;25;29
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
I think he got excited at that time, too. And as he learned more about what we were,
00;29;25;29 – 00;29;32;09
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
imagining and what students had asked for from the very beginning, which was sanctuary in the city and,
00;29;32;09 – 00;29;38;22
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
a place to gather and make medicine, have to have classes indoor or outdoor.
00;29;38;22 – 00;29;40;10
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
This gives us that flexibility.
00;29;40;10 – 00;29;41;00
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
and,
00;29;41;00 – 00;29;48;04
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
we really took it deeper, and we began to look at opportunities for me to come to his architecture studios.
00;29;49;00 – 00;30;00;14
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
And from this point on, this would kick off many more collaborations from community projects like the Willow Domes to Co-Designing Festival Stages, to sharing courses across these two departments.
00;30;01;19 – 00;30;10;14
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
one we did was the studios with the architecture undergraduate program, and they put together an incredible illustrated
00;30;10;14 – 00;30;21;08
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
book of their designs and their narrative. And, the following year, I was I got to work with the graduate students in the School of Architecture, and that’s where I met Eric.
00;30;21;08 – 00;30;27;13
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Giovanetti and, many other students that we’re working with now, like Ethan and Sam and Arden
00;30;27;13 – 00;30;31;03
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
There was a second booklet that came out all color with their
00;30;31;03 – 00;30;46;06
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
designs and their narrative. And what was exciting was we began the collaboration of what is an Indigenous perspective, what is the relational worldview? What are Indigenous values and principles that guide,
00;30;46;06 – 00;31;10;20
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
all aspects of living. And so being invited to the studio and sharing with the students, we’ve had conversations about the role of the changing seasons, the significance of the four directions, and the significance of water and sun and the land and the air movement and the relationship to our plant relatives, animal relatives,
00;31;10;20 – 00;31;12;18
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
who’s already living here?
00;31;12;18 – 00;31;21;09
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
what is the land telling us it’s becoming? How do we, take an urban site and,
00;31;21;09 – 00;31;25;19
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
recognize the Oak Savanna and Camas Prairie that’s hiding underneath?
00;31;25;19 – 00;31;27;23
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
and so those conversations
00;31;27;23 – 00;31;34;28
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
were exciting to see it come to life in these booklets that CPID and the School of Architecture put together
00;31;36;20 – 00;31;37;09
Ron Acob
As Judy and.
00;31;37;09 – 00;31;38;06
Ron Acob
I kept talking.
00;31;38;07 – 00;31;47;08
Ron Acob
One story really stood out. You see, institutions historically haven’t really been the most welcoming places for Indigenous and many other BIPOC.
00;31;47;08 – 00;31;47;20
Ron Acob
Bipoc.
00;31;47;20 – 00;31;52;17
Ron Acob
Communities for a lot of reasons. But there was one unexpected.
00;31;52;17 – 00;31;52;29
Ron Acob
Ally.
00;31;52;29 – 00;31;56;24
Ron Acob
At PSU who really understood and listened to the visions.
00;31;57;22 – 00;31;59;08
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
I want to acknowledge that
00;31;59;08 – 00;32;06;14
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
it was our, former president, Steve Percy, who, looking at resiliency in the city,
00;32;06;14 – 00;32;18;10
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Sergio invited me to join the President and the committee that was, talking about safety, security, resiliency on campus.
00;32;18;13 – 00;32;25;12
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
And when we came to the Oak Savanna and I spoke about the work we had been doing and what it meant to us
00;32;25;12 – 00;32;30;16
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
at that moment, I feel like, President Steve Percy, what he shared was,
00;32;30;16 – 00;32;46;09
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
he felt that he got it. He heard that. And before he retired, he did what you need to do, and only the President could do it was to make this the ITECK Center, the Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge Center.
00;32;46;12 – 00;32;57;14
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
And so it’s no longer the Harrison Street building. Someone said all the Google Maps are changed. And so it became very real through those relationships.
00;32;59;10 – 00;32;59;28
Ron Acob
Before we go.
00;32;59;28 – 00;33;23;14
Ron Acob
On further, we’re going to go on a little bit of a segue here, but an important one. In a recent conversation I had with Athena on a recent presentation she did at the 2023 Noma Conference on Decolonizing Pacific Northwest Architecture. Over the many things we discussed. There is one very clear, point made architecture holds up colonial legacies and practices through the act of building.
00;33;23;17 – 00;33;29;19
Ron Acob
So I figured we ought to have a conversation about this first. And Athena shares with us her perspectives on this.
00;33;31;21 – 00;33;34;11
Athena Rilatos
I’d always really loved, the built.
00;33;34;11 – 00;33;36;26
Athena Rilatos
Environment and design early on.
00;33;36;27 – 00;33;39;15
Athena Rilatos
I loved it as a kid.
00;33;39;17 – 00;33;48;20
Athena Rilatos
I loved making forts and just crafting things and being in the backyard and just trying to put shelters together for me and my friends. And, but to me.
00;33;48;20 – 00;33;50;06
Athena Rilatos
An architect was a rich.
00;33;50;06 – 00;33;52;26
Athena Rilatos
white man, and that was not me.
00;33;52;28 – 00;34;01;22
Athena Rilatos
so, but I went after it super excited, and I feel like I started with so much.
00;34;01;22 – 00;34;05;00
Athena Rilatos
excitement and, you know, that I.
00;34;05;02 – 00;34;07;02
Athena Rilatos
I had allowed myself to even.
00;34;07;09 – 00;34;09;08
Athena Rilatos
Begin the journey. And then I got.
00;34;09;08 – 00;34;10;01
Athena Rilatos
Into the.
00;34;10;08 – 00;34;12;21
Athena Rilatos
Program, and suddenly.
00;34;12;29 – 00;34;14;06
Athena Rilatos
A lot of the,
00;34;14;06 – 00;34;18;27
Athena Rilatos
pedagogy began to really show itself in a way where I still.
00;34;19;00 – 00;34;20;25
Athena Rilatos
Didn’t see myself reflected in it.
00;34;20;25 – 00;34;22;04
Athena Rilatos
Whatsoever.
00;34;22;06 – 00;34;28;05
Athena Rilatos
Even though I’m learning from an institution that is built on my homelands.
00;34;28;08 – 00;34;29;25
Athena Rilatos
that was not a part.
00;34;29;25 – 00;34;30;20
Athena Rilatos
Of the conversation.
00;34;30;20 – 00;34;36;04
Athena Rilatos
I was not a part of the education. what was evident was that it was very Eurocentric.
00;34;36;06 – 00;34;36;13
Athena Rilatos
and it.
00;34;36;13 – 00;34;39;03
Athena Rilatos
Was, still.
00;34;39;06 – 00;34;40;01
Athena Rilatos
Kind of an old.
00;34;40;01 – 00;34;52;05
Athena Rilatos
Boys club. So my initial stereotype was actually quite accurate in the way that these systems have sort of perpetuated that. so I did.
00;34;52;07 – 00;34;52;24
Athena Rilatos
You know.
00;34;52;24 – 00;34;56;05
Athena Rilatos
Like that stereotype is real.
00;34;56;07 – 00;35;01;19
Athena Rilatos
In a way. but now we’re challenging that by showing up and getting through.
00;35;01;21 – 00;35;04;27
Athena Rilatos
But it also takes a lot to get through as a Bipoc.
00;35;04;27 – 00;35;09;25
Athena Rilatos
Person, as an Indigenous woman, when you’re not reflected and you’re not.
00;35;09;28 – 00;35;12;19
Athena Rilatos
value really, it doesn’t feel like our our.
00;35;12;19 – 00;35;13;07
Athena Rilatos
Knowledge isn’t.
00;35;13;07 – 00;35;17;01
Athena Rilatos
Valued the way that other cultures.
00;35;17;08 – 00;35;19;00
Athena Rilatos
Knowledge is valued.
00;35;19;00 – 00;35;23;24
Athena Rilatos
The western knowledge is the most valued and that’s the most taught.
00;35;24;27 – 00;35;25;08
Athena Rilatos
I had.
00;35;25;08 – 00;35;28;03
Athena Rilatos
The opportunity to.
00;35;28;06 – 00;35;29;08
Athena Rilatos
Understand what it is.
00;35;29;08 – 00;35;29;22
Athena Rilatos
To be a.
00;35;29;22 – 00;35;32;26
Athena Rilatos
Res Native and an urban Native. which is.
00;35;32;26 – 00;35;33;18
Athena Rilatos
Two totally.
00;35;33;18 – 00;35;34;26
Athena Rilatos
Different realities.
00;35;34;26 – 00;35;35;22
Athena Rilatos
And
00;35;35;22 – 00;35;39;08
Athena Rilatos
for me, the land is is our church. It’s our.
00;35;39;08 – 00;35;40;04
Athena Rilatos
Relation.
00;35;40;04 – 00;35;44;20
Athena Rilatos
so when I, when I think about really sacred sites or places that.
00;35;44;22 – 00;35;45;17
Athena Rilatos
My ancestors.
00;35;45;17 – 00;35;48;23
Athena Rilatos
Have had and marked as really important sites or really.
00;35;48;23 – 00;35;50;14
Athena Rilatos
Important areas.
00;35;50;16 – 00;35;51;22
Athena Rilatos
Or.
00;35;51;24 – 00;35;52;27
Athena Rilatos
And they’re.
00;35;52;29 – 00;35;53;21
Athena Rilatos
Sacred.
00;35;53;21 – 00;35;58;10
Athena Rilatos
And have a lot of meaning. And then suddenly there’s industry.
00;35;58;10 – 00;36;00;25
Athena Rilatos
Built right on top of it. It feels a lot like.
00;36;00;25 – 00;36;01;23
Athena Rilatos
If someone were.
00;36;01;23 – 00;36;02;15
Athena Rilatos
To
00;36;02;15 – 00;36;05;14
Athena Rilatos
remove a church and build
00;36;05;14 – 00;36;08;00
Athena Rilatos
a factory instead. So it’s really.
00;36;08;00 – 00;36;10;09
Athena Rilatos
Heartbreaking. And the built environment
00;36;10;09 – 00;36;12;12
Athena Rilatos
without any consent or without any.
00;36;12;13 – 00;36;19;13
Athena Rilatos
informative, lens on where these sites are sacred to us. they just.
00;36;19;13 – 00;36;20;13
Athena Rilatos
Build anyway, you know.
00;36;20;13 – 00;36;22;00
Athena Rilatos
So there’s sort of like
00;36;22;00 – 00;36;23;07
Athena Rilatos
a really.
00;36;23;09 – 00;36;24;06
Athena Rilatos
damaging,
00;36;24;06 – 00;36;24;26
Athena Rilatos
position where.
00;36;24;26 – 00;36;28;00
Athena Rilatos
We feel and we see.
00;36;28;02 – 00;36;29;23
Athena Rilatos
How our land has transformed.
00;36;29;23 – 00;36;34;07
Athena Rilatos
In such a negative way over just such a short.
00;36;34;09 – 00;36;41;06
Athena Rilatos
Fraction of time. where there is so much care and intention and making of.
00;36;41;06 – 00;36;43;01
Athena Rilatos
Space, for.
00;36;43;01 – 00;36;46;02
Athena Rilatos
Thousands of years, and my ancestors.
00;36;46;08 – 00;36;53;03
Athena Rilatos
Have been buried here for thousands of years. Like we are the soil. We are the trees, we are the water.
00;36;53;03 – 00;36;55;16
Athena Rilatos
and so then to just.
00;36;55;16 – 00;36;56;29
Athena Rilatos
Be kind of brushed off to a.
00;36;56;29 – 00;36;57;23
Athena Rilatos
Reservation,
00;36;57;23 – 00;36;59;21
Athena Rilatos
And that’s it.
00;36;59;21 – 00;37;02;01
Athena Rilatos
And, has its own kind of,
00;37;02;01 – 00;37;02;17
Athena Rilatos
traumatic.
00;37;02;17 – 00;37;03;00
Athena Rilatos
History,
00;37;03;00 – 00;37;03;13
Athena Rilatos
but it’s also.
00;37;03;13 – 00;37;03;22
Athena Rilatos
Been a.
00;37;03;22 – 00;37;06;29
Athena Rilatos
Place of where we have our resilience and we have.
00;37;06;29 – 00;37;07;22
Athena Rilatos
Our community.
00;37;07;28 – 00;37;10;03
Athena Rilatos
Which is really beautiful. But it does.
00;37;10;03 – 00;37;11;07
Athena Rilatos
Come with its own.
00;37;11;10 – 00;37;12;14
Athena Rilatos
Set of.
00;37;12;17 – 00;37;15;15
Athena Rilatos
challenges and.
00;37;15;17 – 00;37;16;05
Athena Rilatos
but still.
00;37;16;05 – 00;37;20;12
Athena Rilatos
When especially, I think, within a, urban environment.
00;37;20;15 – 00;37;23;13
Athena Rilatos
It’s still really important to.
00;37;23;16 – 00;37;26;23
Athena Rilatos
Understand how the land.
00;37;26;23 – 00;37;30;27
Athena Rilatos
Is still speaking to us. And there are still these areas that are.
00;37;30;29 – 00;37;32;23
Athena Rilatos
are sacred and like, want to be.
00;37;32;23 – 00;37;33;14
Athena Rilatos
That we have.
00;37;33;14 – 00;37;34;14
Athena Rilatos
Made a promise.
00;37;34;14 – 00;37;35;19
Athena Rilatos
Really, we’ve made a.
00;37;35;19 – 00;37;38;03
Athena Rilatos
Promise to the Salmon Nation. We’ve made a promise to.
00;37;38;03 – 00;37;39;05
Athena Rilatos
Our rivers, our.
00;37;39;05 – 00;37;47;10
Athena Rilatos
Water. We’ve made a promise to the land itself. to be in good relation. And we’re not we’re not making that. We’re not holding up our promise.
00;37;47;10 – 00;37;50;09
Athena Rilatos
Because we don’t. We’re there’s so few.
00;37;52;07 – 00;38;04;01
Ron Acob
This might seem a little bit of a dichotomy, but how does the intersection of ITECK into architecture beginning to disrupt what you just talked about and what are some of the outcomes you’ve seen come out of that intersection?
00;38;05;01 – 00;38;05;09
Athena Rilatos
it.
00;38;05;09 – 00;38;06;18
Athena Rilatos
Is been.
00;38;06;21 – 00;38;08;08
Athena Rilatos
A really incredible
00;38;08;08 – 00;38;10;03
Athena Rilatos
process to be a part of.
00;38;10;03 – 00;38;10;29
Athena Rilatos
It’s what’s kept.
00;38;10;29 – 00;38;13;05
Athena Rilatos
Me going in the program.
00;38;13;08 – 00;38;14;00
Athena Rilatos
I
00;38;14;00 – 00;38;15;06
Athena Rilatos
did take a year off.
00;38;15;06 – 00;38;16;01
Athena Rilatos
After my first.
00;38;16;01 – 00;38;17;06
Athena Rilatos
Year.
00;38;17;08 – 00;38;17;23
Athena Rilatos
And.
00;38;17;23 – 00;38;18;09
Athena Rilatos
Worked
00;38;18;09 – 00;38;19;04
Athena Rilatos
exclusively.
00;38;19;04 – 00;38;20;24
Athena Rilatos
Within the ITECK realm
00;38;20;24 – 00;38;21;21
Athena Rilatos
and.
00;38;21;23 – 00;38;25;01
Athena Rilatos
Was able to really sort of like, build my.
00;38;25;01 – 00;38;28;29
Athena Rilatos
Spirit up in a way to then come back and and do.
00;38;28;29 – 00;38;31;01
Athena Rilatos
The the two years that I.
00;38;31;01 – 00;38;32;19
Athena Rilatos
Needed to finish the degree.
00;38;32;19 – 00;38;35;25
Athena Rilatos
and so to me now.
00;38;35;27 – 00;38;39;00
Athena Rilatos
The bridging of architecture.
00;38;39;00 – 00;38;39;24
Athena Rilatos
And.
00;38;39;27 – 00;38;40;19
Athena Rilatos
ITECK.
00;38;40;19 – 00;38;41;14
Athena Rilatos
Has been.
00;38;42;01 – 00;38;44;27
Athena Rilatos
Really amazing to see how we can do
00;38;44;27 – 00;38;45;23
Athena Rilatos
things.
00;38;45;25 – 00;38;48;03
Athena Rilatos
In community and how we can.
00;38;48;03 – 00;38;53;29
Athena Rilatos
Change the way that sort of the old methodologies.
00;38;53;29 – 00;38;55;21
Athena Rilatos
Have been of.
00;38;55;23 – 00;38;56;06
Athena Rilatos
Of.
00;38;56;13 – 00;38;57;23
Athena Rilatos
Positioning, you know.
00;38;57;23 – 00;38;58;26
Athena Rilatos
In some one.
00;38;58;26 – 00;38;59;26
Athena Rilatos
Person as.
00;38;59;26 – 00;39;00;20
Athena Rilatos
The.
00;39;00;22 – 00;39;03;24
Athena Rilatos
Designer and they get the recognition and it’s,
00;39;03;24 – 00;39;06;02
Athena Rilatos
that one person rather than,
00;39;06;02 – 00;39;12;15
Athena Rilatos
really valuing how many minds coming together adds so much more.
00;39;12;18 – 00;39;14;20
Athena Rilatos
Flavor to a.
00;39;14;20 – 00;39;23;11
Athena Rilatos
Design process. And it has its own set of challenges, of course, but I feel like, you know, everything has its own set of challenges, and it’s.
00;39;23;13 – 00;39;24;04
Athena Rilatos
Worth.
00;39;24;04 – 00;39;28;23
Athena Rilatos
Going through, to, to do it in, in that way.
00;39;28;25 – 00;39;29;16
Athena Rilatos
so I feel like.
00;39;29;16 – 00;39;32;13
Athena Rilatos
It’s been just nice to.
00;39;32;13 – 00;39;34;10
Athena Rilatos
See that the school.
00;39;34;10 – 00;39;36;08
Athena Rilatos
And the architecture department has.
00;39;36;08 – 00;39;37;25
Athena Rilatos
Wanted to.
00;39;37;25 – 00;39;39;00
Athena Rilatos
Bring in ITECK.
00;39;39;00 – 00;39;40;28
Athena Rilatos
As a part of the curriculum, because as.
00;39;41;04 – 00;39;42;02
Athena Rilatos
Now, as I’ve.
00;39;42;02 – 00;39;42;17
Athena Rilatos
Looked out.
00;39;42;17 – 00;39;43;15
Athena Rilatos
To so many different.
00;39;43;15 – 00;39;45;16
Athena Rilatos
Student projects over the years.
00;39;45;16 – 00;39;46;17
Athena Rilatos
That I’ve been here and.
00;39;46;17 – 00;39;47;12
Athena Rilatos
Reviews.
00;39;47;15 – 00;39;48;24
Athena Rilatos
I’ve seen.
00;39;48;26 – 00;39;51;24
Athena Rilatos
Most everybody take such good care.
00;39;51;24 – 00;40;01;04
Athena Rilatos
And intention of honoring the land and thinking about that critically in their design process, where it used to not even be evident at all.
00;40;01;11 – 00;40;02;09
Athena Rilatos
And so that.
00;40;02;09 – 00;40;04;04
Athena Rilatos
To me, brings me so much joy.
00;40;04;06 – 00;40;05;20
Athena Rilatos
That at least that one ripple.
00;40;05;26 – 00;40;14;05
Athena Rilatos
Within this department has, you know, made somewhat of an impact in the many designers that will go through this program and to see how that might.
00;40;14;07 – 00;40;15;03
Athena Rilatos
Carry through.
00;40;15;03 – 00;40;20;02
Athena Rilatos
Into the built environment in the next 50 years, like for the designers that have come out of.
00;40;20;02 – 00;40;21;11
Athena Rilatos
Here. And maybe it’s.
00;40;21;11 – 00;40;22;09
Athena Rilatos
A small impact, but.
00;40;22;09 – 00;40;24;03
Athena Rilatos
I hope it’s a really big one.
00;40;24;18 – 00;40;28;16
Athena Rilatos
This campus Oak Savanna has been a tremendous learning opportunity.
00;40;28;16 – 00;40;29;23
Athena Rilatos
For all of us.
00;40;29;23 – 00;40;33;25
Athena Rilatos
For me, even as an Indigenous person on my homelands. Like, I think.
00;40;33;25 – 00;40;35;25
Athena Rilatos
This project brought me home.
00;40;35;27 – 00;40;41;26
Athena Rilatos
And and being able to build relationship with my homelands to understand all of.
00;40;41;26 – 00;40;42;14
Athena Rilatos
Those.
00;40;42;16 – 00;40;43;19
Athena Rilatos
Things, to be learning.
00;40;43;19 – 00;40;45;01
Athena Rilatos
From educators.
00;40;45;01 – 00;40;47;03
Athena Rilatos
And other Indigenous community members.
00;40;47;03 – 00;40;48;05
Athena Rilatos
About what it.
00;40;48;05 – 00;40;55;20
Athena Rilatos
Is to be Native to here, and that being spread out to everyone else, and just to see how that brings people together in a.
00;40;55;22 – 00;40;56;06
Athena Rilatos
Beautiful.
00;40;56;06 – 00;40;57;08
Athena Rilatos
Learning way.
00;40;57;08 – 00;41;24;06
Ron Acob
And that’s it. That’s what some of this work has been about, dismantling a system of colonial legacies in our practices and education, and shifting to a more inclusive, collaborative and a relationship centered one. More voices, more connections, more relationships to make this systematic change happen and inform a better future and pathway forward. And all of this includes everybody, whether you are Indigenous or non-Indigenous.
00;41;24;08 – 00;41;33;01
Ron Acob
And this hasn’t been better demonstrated than in the Oak Savanna project. And Emma tells us how this is all been playing out, particularly in the redesign of the ITECK Center.
00;41;34;04 – 00;41;45;22
Emma Johnson
I coordinate the ITECK Center Oak Savanna focus groups with Eric, and those are us checking in currently biweekly with interested students and staff that can make it.
00;41;45;22 – 00;41;53;29
Emma Johnson
and those are more of like a convening to share current designs or meetings or ideas and get feedback.
00;41;53;29 – 00;41;57;08
Emma Johnson
and those have been really great to, like, keep a continuity between
00;41;57;08 – 00;42;05;08
Emma Johnson
conversations. So there’s not just like kind of a big break in where like, oh, wait, what where are we working on or who said this and what was this project?
00;42;05;08 – 00;42;15;05
Emma Johnson
and I think that’s really helpful for students because we have quite a few students that come to those because we also have like our own, just like staff folks to be in ITECK center meetings.
00;42;15;07 – 00;42;18;00
Emma Johnson
But I think, Judy has always
00;42;18;00 – 00;42;40;06
Emma Johnson
made sure that there’s always room for the student and community voices because we want to know what they want to see on the site, what they visualize being helpful on the site, what makes them feel welcome, what they might need as a student or community member. And that’s been a really big part of Judy’s focus for this work since it began.
00;42;41;28 – 00;43;21;18
Mendy Miller
I mean, mostly when I think of these things, I just think how incredible it is that we can get so much done by collaborating. Right. and I think the relationship that Indigenous Nation Studies has with the School of Architecture is just incredible, unique. and reciprocal. You know, I think that’s a really critical part, is that the architecture students are invested in learning about Indigenous ways of knowing and Indigenous, you know, like architecture and how to, you know, not build things that are racist.
00;43;21;18 – 00;43;42;06
Mendy Miller
And the importance of like, the why like they really want to know the why. And then on the other side, you know, students in Indigenous Nations Studies are learning like why architecture is important and why building spaces like this, you know, like is is critical.
00;43;43;28 – 00;43;59;29
Ron Acob
Speaking of designing spaces, Mandy brings experience to the table as a Master’s student in Library and Information Science at the University of Washington. Mandy has actively collaborated with students and the community to envision and develop decolonize library spaces and experience.
00;44;01;23 – 00;44;11;26
Mendy Miller
So, yeah, that’s some of my most exciting work. I started looking at this with Julie Bruce, one of my classmates in Judy’s course,
00;44;11;26 – 00;44;22;09
Mendy Miller
contemporary issues in Indian Country. And yeah, you get to pick kind of a contemporary issue and just investigate that. And what does that look like and bring a presentation.
00;44;22;09 – 00;44;48;10
Mendy Miller
So we started asking our immediate cohort, yeah, like, what are the issues in a library. what does white supremacy look like in the library? And we started unpacking things like the Dewey Decimal System and the inherent racism and categorization practices and data privacy versus data sovereignty. And. Yeah, so we kind of came up with this whole research project.
00;44;48;12 – 00;45;07;23
Mendy Miller
Julie wrote an amazing paper and I put mine into a presentation, and together we presented this work which went to legislation, actually, and was part of bringing in, the changes to the VSC. So it’s really incredible. And
00;45;07;23 – 00;45;09;01
Mendy Miller
that’s not just my story.
00;45;09;01 – 00;45;15;09
Mendy Miller
This is what Judy does for students. Students make a connection to whatever kind of work, right.
00;45;15;09 – 00;45;19;09
Mendy Miller
That’s a class that helps you connect your work. And then,
00;45;19;09 – 00;45;20;10
Mendy Miller
bring in
00;45;20;10 – 00;45;22;21
Mendy Miller
Indigenous voices and kind of
00;45;22;21 – 00;45;51;04
Mendy Miller
and start unpacking things in a good way. And so it kind of has led to being able to show this work to other people and then being able to bring in, like this School of Architecture. And now we’re actually making changes into different spaces, like the Vernier Science Center and looking to the future to actually building an ITECK Center, which will also have an Indigenous library or knowledge space centered in there as well.
00;45;52;26 – 00;45;55;12
Ron Acob
As part of any collaborative work. There are many.
00;45;55;12 – 00;46;00;26
Ron Acob
Opportunities, but also hurdles along the way. In a recent conversation, Emma shares with.
00;46;00;26 – 00;46;04;09
Ron Acob
Me the challenges the team currently faces and are up against.
00;46;05;18 – 00;46;09;08
Emma Johnson
our most common barrier is just time.
00;46;09;08 – 00;46;11;24
Emma Johnson
And I think we’re really good at making sure
00;46;11;24 – 00;46;14;03
Emma Johnson
we focus on
00;46;14;03 – 00;46;16;03
Emma Johnson
it being student and community led.
00;46;16;03 – 00;46;23;04
Emma Johnson
And I also think that all of us have so many different roles that sometimes it’s hard to.
00;46;23;04 – 00;46;31;13
Emma Johnson
Just as a team dedicate time, which is a normal challenge, I would say that that’s the one thing internally that I notice.
00;46;31;13 – 00;46;43;01
Emma Johnson
And so sometimes it’s like herding cats, which is just the reality of working with such an expansive team. Externally, I would say funding the
00;46;43;01 – 00;46;49;03
Emma Johnson
lovely bureaucracy of working within an academic institution and then also time,
00;46;49;03 – 00;47;01;21
Emma Johnson
time is a really interesting thing in the western worlds, and I think that ITECK and collaboration with architecture push against timelines, like for example, right.
00;47;01;21 – 00;47;08;24
Emma Johnson
We have two years to spend what we are awarded to do the renovate of work here at the ITECK Center
00;47;08;24 – 00;47;20;06
Emma Johnson
And that feels a little stressful. and I’m so thankful for the funding and I know that we’ll make it work, but I think that that very western construct of
00;47;20;06 – 00;47;23;10
Emma Johnson
timeline for specific funding and then it needs to be done.
00;47;23;14 – 00;47;34;29
Emma Johnson
The work here will never be done. and that’s so much a part of our teachings anyways. And it might be done on the building, but it will never be done in the Oak Savanna, which is the whole point of why we’re putting the building here.
00;47;34;29 – 00;47;36;01
Emma Johnson
And I think that
00;47;36;01 – 00;47;40;07
Emma Johnson
us having to constantly educate is another barrier.
00;47;40;09 – 00;47;51;10
Emma Johnson
And is it our job? Sure. Sometimes it’s a really big lifts and we don’t all have the capacity for that. And so it might be,
00;47;51;10 – 00;48;08;01
Emma Johnson
Glossed over because that’s just what happens sometimes. And I feel like a lot of folks need to do work on their own to educate themselves. And so I always push for that, like, yes, come ask your questions. There’s no stupid questions. But also
00;48;08;01 – 00;48;17;05
Emma Johnson
there’s so many resources through our own websites, through things that we have produced individually on our own teams and then collectively.
00;48;17;09 – 00;48;19;15
Emma Johnson
And there’s going to be more of those, which will be helpful.
00;48;21;02 – 00;48;25;06
Emma Johnson
As these challenges show up in the process. Some ways, the team has tackled them on.
00;48;25;06 – 00;48;29;25
Emma Johnson
are setting boundaries and like everything this project has been about, it’s also a community.
00;48;29;25 – 00;48;32;28
Emma Johnson
Effort and all partners to overcome these challenges together.
00;48;34;20 – 00;48;35;22
Emma Johnson
I think that.
00;48;35;22 – 00;48;40;03
Emma Johnson
as a team, prioritizing the needs of
00;48;40;03 – 00;48;42;13
Emma Johnson
our students and communities helps us
00;48;42;13 – 00;48;44;01
Emma Johnson
know where our boundaries
00;48;44;01 – 00;48;44;19
Emma Johnson
lay.
00;48;44;19 – 00;48;48;00
Emma Johnson
and sometimes you’re in spaces where.
00;48;48;00 – 00;48;58;12
Emma Johnson
Your boundaries, like our flexible. And those are, like, in our community spaces, right. With our students, with Native community members in the Portland area.
00;48;58;12 – 00;49;02;15
Emma Johnson
and then there’s other spaces where your boundaries are not flexible.
00;49;02;15 – 00;49;05;16
Emma Johnson
and I think that that’s an important thing to
00;49;05;16 – 00;49;11;11
Emma Johnson
stand like, true to, because there’s folks that we
00;49;11;11 – 00;49;21;22
Emma Johnson
will bend over backwards to be there and share with and ask questions and, engage in meaningful conversation.
00;49;21;22 – 00;49;29;02
Emma Johnson
And then there’s other folks that sometimes just aren’t worth our time. and that’s okay. And that’s the reality of everything, really.
00;49;29;02 – 00;49;44;13
Emma Johnson
but I think that this project itself pushes the boundaries of a lot of things that are done within academia, and that is super important. Like us pushing back and saying, no, it needs to be student led.
00;49;46;04 – 00;49;47;14
Athena Rilatos
it’s just a very like
00;49;47;14 – 00;49;48;29
Athena Rilatos
interesting,
00;49;48;29 – 00;50;08;03
Athena Rilatos
forces that are coming together. It’s like, you know, kind of balances the systems a bit, learning from each other. And because there’s, like timelines, you know, there’s budgets, there’s rules that we all have to be like, all right, how do we achieve what we want to achieve within these settings?
00;50;08;03 – 00;50;28;03
Athena Rilatos
And how do we sort of finagle a little bit and how do we like, you know, and then it’s just the people that you sort are at the table legitimately, like the minds that are all actively there. And, and, you know, it’s not on just one person. It’s like literally it’s been a community event of like getting this,
00;50;28;03 – 00;50;29;15
Athena Rilatos
this whole thing going.
00;50;31;03 – 00;50;50;21
Ron Acob
One thing that you haven’t heard from, but is really important conversation to have, is at the Oak Savanna and ITECK Center does not stand alone. And what I mean by that is that it stands in connectivity to other Indigenous spaces at PSU, such as the Vernier Science Center, the American Student and Community Center, and the land on which PSU stands on.
00;50;50;24 – 00;51;03;18
Ron Acob
And I might also add that all of our storytellers have had an active role in helping to bring these spaces at PSU, and Athena does the same points of their presence in an urban setting. What it means to her, her Native community, and to everybody.
00;51;05;10 – 00;51;06;214
Athena Rilatos
I feel like it gives
00;51;06;21 – 00;51;25;18
Athena Rilatos
the space for more Indigenous students and community members to be like, oh, that’s happening there. And then they show up and, like, for an elder of mine always says, if you build the fire, like, people will come.
00;51;25;18 – 00;51;26;17
Athena Rilatos
and so
00;51;26;17 – 00;51;44;02
Athena Rilatos
to me, that really means, you know, like by building these spaces and by having them, then people come, like Indigenous people will come non-Indigenous people will come. But people are going to be curious, you know, and especially Indigenous people. And I think that really at the end of the day, like
00;51;44;02 – 00;51;45;22
Athena Rilatos
our community has been,
00;51;45;22 – 00;51;59;20
Athena Rilatos
traumatized for so long and we’re all healing some deep generational trauma and just having more spaces that are visible.
00;51;59;20 – 00;52;00;16
Athena Rilatos
And like,
00;52;00;16 – 00;52;01;14
Athena Rilatos
evident
00;52;01;14 – 00;52;16;26
Athena Rilatos
as, like the fire, you know, the fire, like, oh, I need to go to that. it just like, allows that space to exist, to connect each of us together and to begin some of that healing practice that happens only when we’re in community.
00;52;19;22 – 00;52;26;12
Ron Acob
So let’s round off our conversation today. We’ve gotten to hear many stories behind the Oak Savanna, the ITECK Center.
00;52;26;14 – 00;52;30;21
Ron Acob
The land, the people, successes, challenges, and explore what’s at the.
00;52;30;21 – 00;52;36;05
Ron Acob
Intersection of ITECK and architecture. And trust me, this is only where the story begins.
00;52;37;00 – 00;52;49;05
Ron Acob
But before we end today’s episode, I wanted to leave everyone with something special. With the ITECK Center on its way, and as the Oak Savanna goes through an ongoing transformation. Like many great ideas begin, there is a vision.
00;52;50;01 – 00;52;52;23
Ron Acob
At the end of each of my conversations with our storytellers.
00;52;52;23 – 00;53;01;08
Ron Acob
I asked them what did they hope to see more of at the Oak Savanna and ITECK Center currently in a year in 2 to 3 years or more.
00;53;02;24 – 00;53;06;06
Ron Acob
And so I leave you here with everyone’s visions.
00;53;10;00 – 00;53;17;04
Mendy Miller
it’s a really emotional question. And to to really think about that is like, it brings me to tears.
00;53;17;04 – 00;53;19;28
Mendy Miller
We’ve worked so hard.
00;53;19;28 – 00;53;22;13
Mendy Miller
Start to really envision. It is like
00;53;22;13 – 00;53;24;03
Mendy Miller
it’s super joyous.
00;53;24;03 – 00;53;31;07
Mendy Miller
You know, I see students working in these spaces and feeling like they belong
00;53;31;07 – 00;53;50;07
Mendy Miller
And I hope to see PSU investing more, you know, and seeing how important it is. I hope that this space is like really alive. And I hope that everyone that’s been with the project is still a part of it somehow, whether it’s in the stories
00;53;50;07 – 00;53;55;00
Mendy Miller
that we’re sharing about how we all contributed or it’s whether they’re still connected.
00;53;55;00 – 00;54;00;16
Mendy Miller
Because like Judy says, once you’re here, you can never leave. And she really means it.
00;54;01;14 – 00;54;08;13
Athena Rilatos
I think it’s just really exciting to be able to have, it feels to me like a heart, you know, of campus over there.
00;54;08;13 – 00;54;09;15
Athena Rilatos
and I love that
00;54;09;15 – 00;54;21;08
Athena Rilatos
we’re, like, kind of allowed to just be a little rugged and and less manicured. and because it kind of feels like how I feel in my,
00;54;21;08 – 00;54;33;18
Athena Rilatos
and how I was raised, like I never have fit in the box, really. And, I don’t know, it’s a nice little representation of, like, being a little outside of the box over there on the campus.
00;54;33;18 – 00;54;40;07
Athena Rilatos
And, yeah, the Vernier Science Center, too. Like, I think it’s just such an exciting,
00;54;40;07 – 00;54;51;22
Athena Rilatos
opportunity to be able to, like, globally connect. Like, that’s a classroom that will be really it has high tech capabilities of,
00;54;51;22 – 00;54;54;06
Athena Rilatos
being able to record and share,
00;54;54;06 – 00;54;59;21
Athena Rilatos
because everything there’s like these nice cameras and, and stuff in those classrooms.
00;54;59;21 – 00;55;14;19
Athena Rilatos
and so like, will be able to continue learning from people in Aotearoa New Zealand and you know, from like your community, like we literally can connect to so many Indigenous people around the world, which is super exciting because then it’s
00;55;14;19 – 00;55;16;15
Athena Rilatos
like, that’s even a bigger ripple.
00;55;18;00 – 00;55;34;03
Emma Johnson
realistically, we can work with the building we’re in right now, we could make it work, but because the funding is there and will likely be able to support what we want to make happen with the School of Architecture, why not?
00;55;34;05 – 00;55;54;16
Emma Johnson
like, let’s build a new space that does not have asbestos, that we can make our own and really make sure the gathering space is the way we want it to be for students and community, and partners, and make sure that we have, space for processing plants that we can harvest from the Oak Savanna and teach weaving.
00;55;54;19 – 00;56;16;15
Emma Johnson
and then folks talk a lot about, like, a specific area for, doing Salmon bakes, because we do those with our wonderful partners, the Bruno’s. And they always have to bring their own, like fire pit, because that’s just where we’re at right now. But like visualizing how cool it will be to have a permanent like fixture for Salmon bakes is so cool.
00;56;16;17 – 00;56;36;26
Emma Johnson
And the same thing for roasting Camas which is a traditional food. that’s a bulb that you can cook in the ground traditionally. And so I think like seeing those spaces come to life with the creation of a new building that really captures what ITECK is and how we want it to support students,
00;56;36;26 – 00;56;39;00
Emma Johnson
is what I hope to see.
00;56;40;22 – 00;56;46;19
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
I don’t think in terms of eternity or forever or something gets built in the past and it has to
00;56;46;19 – 00;56;49;13
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
somehow last forever.
00;56;49;15 – 00;57;10;20
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
But I do feel the, Vision and how it came together and the flexibility of those relationships being responsive to and also imagining not just the victim of, whatever’s happening, but working intimately together. You know, we’re taught it’s like a dance.
00;57;10;20 – 00;57;16;03
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
in alignment with the stars. The stars aren’t stationary stars. We look at the sky tonight.
00;57;16;06 – 00;57;17;14
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
That isn’t what they look like.
00;57;17;14 – 00;57;37;00
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Even, you know, five years ago. And they’re moving. So our understanding is that it’s all it’s all in flux. We’re moving. And to pay attention to that dance and follow that. And, while you’re creating it, and I think this site,
00;57;37;00 – 00;57;54;21
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
doesn’t do it justice, but I think the Oak Savanna and the ITECK Center will hopefully, given everybody’s, energy, we’ll have that resiliency to move, you know, to move with the dance that’s going on.
00;57;59;15 – 00;58;02;10
Ron Acob
And this concludes the first episode of the Oak Savanna.
00;58;02;10 – 00;58;02;16
Ron Acob
And
00;58;02;20 – 00;58;05;05
Ron Acob
ITECK Center. The voices at the Intersection of.
00;58;05;05 – 00;58;06;27
Ron Acob
ITECK and Architecture series.
00;58;07;27 – 00;58;14;20
Ron Acob
In the process of helping to weave all of these stories together. I had learned a lot, and I hope you did, too, and perhaps consider the stories we’ve.
00;58;14;20 – 00;58;16;02
Ron Acob
All kindly gifted as a.
00;58;16;02 – 00;58;28;01
Ron Acob
Call to action, and to reflect and ask ourselves how we can be part of this movement. Also, we recognize that stories are told in many different ways. So we highly encourage you to check out the photos and mini stories.
00;58;28;01 – 00;58;31;21
Ron Acob
Around the Oak Savanna and ITECK Center. I want to say a.
00;58;31;21 – 00;58;40;07
Ron Acob
Special thank you to Judy Bluehorse Skelton, Emma Johnson, Mendy Miller, Athena Rilatos, Clifton, and Christine Bruno and Emma Jewell Cohen for sharing with.
00;58;40;07 – 00;58;46;19
Ron Acob
Us their oral stories and experiences at the Oak Savanna. I also want to say thank you to Sergio Palleroni
00;58;46;22 – 00;58;49;20
Ron Acob
Eric Giovanetti, Sam Barber, Lisa Abendroth
00;58;49;20 – 00;58;52;12
Ron Acob
and Todd Ferry for their guidance for this series.
00;58;53;02 – 00;58;55;18
Ron Acob
But this is only where our story begins.
00;58;55;21 – 00;59;06;03
Ron Acob
Before we go, we invite everyone to join us for the part two of this series as we talk to architects, students and staff in the School of Architecture and hear their side of this story. All of this coming soon.
