The University of Montana acknowledges that we are in the aboriginal territories of the Salish and Kalispel people. Today, we honor the path they have always shown us in caring for this place for the generations to come.”
It is important to remember that the land the University sits on has a longer history. It is also essential to go beyond that acknowledgment and work to better understand our complicated history with Indigenous people in Montana and beyond. The Native American Studies Program at UM was established in 1970 as part of a nationwide movement that saw America try to deal with its troubled past. Since then, it has remained a prominent and celebrated part of the University. In 2010, The Payne Family Native American Center (PFNAC) was constructed to house the growing department. It filled the last plot around the Oval, the heart of campus.
The Native American Studies program began in 1970, but not before first asking for comment from the Native students already on campus. Keeping the Indigenous community involved assures an inclusive space for all.
The Payne Family Native American Center was the first purpose-built Native American Studies facility in the United States. It opened in 2010 and was designed by Crow tribal member Daniel Glenn.
The main room of the PFNAC is a twelve-sided rotunda with parfleche-style (Indigenous rawhide art) patterns on its floor. The outside is emblazoned with the seals of the 12 Native Nations in Montana.
The University of Montana hired Henrietta Mann in 1972 to design their new Native American Studies program. She held her position at the University for 28 years while also developing curricula for universities like Harvard.
In an interview for the National Endowment for the Humanities, Dr. Mann offered the following message to Native American youth today:
...Be exceptionally proud of who you are. You come from a long line of philosophers and geniuses. A long line of them. Don’t ever forget them and the gifts that they give to you, in terms of knowledge, of teaching you in their own way what it is to survive, because we have survived until today. And that is what I want for all of them, to survive for all time.” - Dr. Henrietta Mann