About the
Intellectual House
The University of Washington and the region's tribes are leading an effort to build the Wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ or Intellectual House, a longhouse-style facility, at the University's Seattle campus. The mission of the Intellectual House is “to provide a multi-service learning and gathering space for Native American students, faculty and staff, and others of various cultures and communities to come together in a supporting and welcoming educational environment to share their knowledge and their cultures with one another.”
A primary purpose of the Intellectual House is to increase Native American students’ success at UW, preparing them for leadership roles in their tribal communities and the region. While the UW has made promising gains in recruiting Native American students, retention and graduation rates for Native American students fall short of those of other student groups, both at UW and at colleges across the country. The Intellectual House will support students’ ability to remain involved in their home tribes and communities through its social and academic programs and its symbolic design. We envision that tribal elders and community members will gather together at the Intellectual House for dialogue, storytelling, and sharing knowledge with our students.
Funding for the project will be provided through the UW, individual gifts, organizations and communities, corporations and foundations, and government organizations. The selected site is located on the Northeast section of the campus, between the Quad and MacMahon. On Friday, April 10, 2009 A site blessing was performed on the selected location of the Intellectual House. View the blessing agenda and a brief history of blessing ceremonies here
, which translates to "Intellectual House" in the Lushootseed language and is phonetically pronounced "wah-sheb-altuh". Read the details 
