s'gʷi gʷi ʔ altxʷ: House of Welcome
The First of its Kind
The “House of Welcome,” Longhouse Education and Cultural Center opened in 1995 at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. As a public service center of The Evergreen State College, the Longhouse’s mission is to promote Indigenous arts and cultures through education, cultural preservation, creative expression, and economic development.
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The Indigenous Arts Campus
The Indigenous Arts Campus studios have allowed the House of Welcome to greatly expand its capacity to offer academic classes and a wider variety of classes and workshops in a wide range of fiber arts, carving and relief printmaking. Many Tribes, individuals and foundations made the studios possible through their donations.
Aerial view of the Indigenous Arts Campus: Longhouse (left), Fiber Arts Studio (top right), Carving Studio (bottom right), 3D Studio (center).
Fiber Arts Studio Eastern Entrance
Fiber Arts Studio Western Entrance
Carving Studio
New!
SIAM, Supporting Indigenous Arts Mastery Program
SIAM Grants for Colleges and Universities:
The SIAM* program, Supporting Indigenous Arts Mastery, is designed to help community colleges, 4-year colleges and universities (both public and private) achieve some of its goals to support cultural arts of Federally Recognized Tribal communities within the institution's own service region. Modeled after the work of the House of Welcome Cultural Arts Center at The Evergreen State College, SIAM is designed to support the outward facing public service work colleges and universities may already be doing, or wish to do with Tribal communities to support cultural visual arts.
Every partnership is unique. While institutions do not need to have a comprehensive public service plan already in place, it should have a team of dedicated staff of professionals and leaders and Tribal Nation partners committed to the successful support of proposed projects focusing on cultural arts as defined by a Tribe or Tribes. The institution and the Tribe(s) should have the capacity to deliver the programming described in your letter as well as provide evaluation and institutional documentation of expenditures.
Cultural arts can be multi-disciplinary or focused on a particular type of art deemed to be important for the Tribe(s) by the Tribe(s) and taught by master artists who can bring other Tribal artists into the circle of artistic mastery as explorers, learners and apprentices. The intention is to create artistic paths to ensure sustainability of the artform(s).
Available grants are up to $30,000 per institution, per year, which is renewable for longer projects. Project budgets should focus on contracts with master artists, supplies and materials, as well as support for learners/apprentices. It may include rental, support for meals during workshops, mileage, lodging as well as some salary support and goods and services for the institution team managing the project. Projects can be matched with other funding sources from institutional, state, and national resources.
Successful institutions will demonstrate a philosophy of service, respect, and consultation with Tribes that elevates autonomy, agency, and expertise of Tribes in their work to support and advance artistic mastery in their communities.
*SIAM is a Salish term for a learned elder and simultaneously a term of respect for learned ancestors.
For more detailed information, or visit our grants webpage.
Questions can be directed via e-mail or phone to:
Mary Kummer, Program Specialist SIAM
Mary.Kummer@evergreen.edu
or
Laura VerMeulen, House of Welcome Director
vermeull@evergreen.edu, 360.867.6413