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Celebrating the First Year of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House

In March 2015, a more than 40-year dream came to fruition when wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House opened its great wooden doors for the first time. Since then, the longhouse-style facility has established itself as a very special place at the center of campus.

wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ is a learning and gathering space designed to support the success of American Indian and Alaska Native students, faculty, and staff, and provide a place that fosters connections between the UW and tribal communities.

Intellectual HouseIn just its first year, over 10,000 individuals have attended over 170 events held in its Gathering Hall and conference room space. Among those events, 21 have been hosted by students and 146 by campus partners.

In addition to last year’s Tribal Leadership Summit and grand opening festivities, wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ has hosted several significant campus events including President Ana Mari Cauce’s campus-wide address that launched the UW Race & Equity Initiative in April 2015 and the subsequent facilitated conversations with students around race and equity throughout the year.

Symposiums for the Native Organization on Indigenous Scholars and the Living Breath Food Sovereignty were held there, as well as musical performances hosted in conjunction with the UW World Series. Student programming at wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ has been established to include jobs-skills training programs, dance and hand-drum classes, and a grant writing class.

Learn more about other first-anniversary milestones for wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ, as well as how to support the construction of the second phase of the facility that features an 8,400-square foot teaching and learning building.