Oregon State University Cultural Centers Oral History Collection, 2013-2015

Title: Oregon State University Cultural Centers Oral History Collection, 2013-2015

ID: OH 021

Primary Creator: Oregon State University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives Research Center

Extent: 0.0 . More info below.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into three series, one each devoted to interviews conducted with staff of the Native American Longhouse and the Asian & Pacific Cultural Center. Interviews are arranged chronologically within the series. Born digital audio and compiled transcripts for each interview are available online. An alphabetical view of the oral history interviewees whose recordings and transcripts are held in this collection is as follows.

Allee, Amelia, Shelby Baisden, Soreth Dahri, and Nicthé Verdugo (May 5, 2015) video, transcript Alradhi, Nadia (May 23, 2013) audio, transcript Cárdenas, Daniel (May 23, 2013) audio, transcript Dorsette, Jason (August 28, 2015) audio Hogan, Tyler (June 3, 2013) audio, transcript Huhndorf, Mariah (May 30, 2013) audio, transcript Kang, Ji-Hae (May 28, 2014) audio, transcript López, Carmen (May 22, 2013) audio, transcript Parish, Hali'a Two interviews: May 21, 2013 (audio, transcript); May 19, 2014 (audio, transcript) Shaker, Mohamed (May 13, 2014) audio, transcript Suzuki, Mandi (May 20, 2014) audio, transcript Williams, Matt (May 30, 2013) audio, transcript Yuan, Maiyee (May 21, 2014) audio, transcript

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The Oregon State University Cultural Centers Oral History Collection consists of interviews conducted with undergraduate and graduate student staff members of three OSU cultural centers - the Native American Longhouse, the Asian & Pacific Cultural Center and the Women's Center - as well as an administrator who oversees all of the university's cultural centers. Documented within the collection are interviewees' thoughts on working in the centers, the purpose and future direction of the organizations, and negotiating life as a student of color at OSU.

Items from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital. Audio recordings of the interviews are available online. All interviews except for Series 4 have been transcribed, and the transcripts are also available online. The transcript for Series 4 is available upon patron request.

The collection consists of twelve born digital audio recordings of interviews with undergraduate and graduate student employees of the OSU Native American Longhouse, Asian & Pacific Cultural Center, and Women's Center. Recordings with Native American Longhouse students and Asian & Pacific Cultural Center students were originally captured in *.wav format, files which have been saved as preservation copies for each interview. Access *.mp3 files have been created for each interview as well. The interview with Women's Center students was video recorded to *.mts format. All interviews held in the collection have been transcribed by the staff of the Special Collections & Archives Research Center.

All Series I interviews were conducted by either Natalia Fernández, the Oregon Multicultural Librarian and a staff member of the Special Collections & Archives Research Center, or Dr. Natchee Barnd, professor of Ethnic Studies at Oregon State University. Topics touched upon include: Native American culture; working at the OSU Native American Longhouse; events hosted by or affiliated with the Native American Longhouse; the Quonset hut and Eena Haws Native American Longhouse facilities; diversity initiatives at OSU; the evolution of interviewees' personal identities as people of color; negotiating life at OSU as a student of color; and the future role of the Native American Longhouse both on campus and in the community.

All Series II interviews were conducted by Natalia Fernández. Topics discussed include: students' experiences of working in the Asian & Pacific Cultural Center; perspectives on the significance of the new APCC building, which was under construction at the time of each interview; collaborations with other student groups on campus; the development of personal identities during students' college years; and ideas on the future of the APCC.

The interview organized into Series III was conducted by Amelia Allee. Topics discussed include: challenges faced by the Women's Center including white privilege and misunderstandings of feminism; ideas and advice for the future of the Women's Center; positive and negative interactions experienced by Women's Center staff; and the family-like environment enjoyed by staff at the center.

The interview described in Series IV was conducted by Christopher Russell and provides a broader administrative perspective on the roles and significance of OSU's seven cultural resource centers.

Items from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital. Researcher access to both the collection's audio and transcripts is available online and upon patron request.

Oregon State University's first Native American Longhouse was organizationally established in 1971 and physically located a year later in a World War II-era Quonset hut placed directly west of Weatherford Hall. From the outset, the mission of the Longhouse has been to "honor the cultures of the First People of this land, including Alaskan Natives and Hawaiian Natives." A focal point for the Native community on campus, the Longhouse has served as a gathering place for students, faculty and staff and has also promoted cross-cultural outreach through a variety of recreational and educational programs. In collaboration with other campus groups, including the Native American Student Association, the Longhouse has been instrumental in the organization of numerous events, including the annual salmon bake and Klatow Eena (Chinook for "Go Beavers") pow wow.

The original Longhouse facility was remodeled in 1999 to insure compliance with health and safety regulations. Over the next decade, momentum built to replace the facility entirely and in May 2011 ground was broken for a new Longhouse, to be located directly south of the existing Quonset hut. The new Eena Haws (Chinook for "Beaver House") Native American Longhouse was dedicated in May 2013. Designed by the Seattle architectural firm of Jones & Jones, the 3,700 square foot facility includes a large gathering hall, study space, kitchen area, computer labs, administrative offices and art collection, including a 360-degree totem carved by Clarence Mills of Vancouver, B.C.

The newest of the four cultural centers at Oregon State University, the Asian Cultural Center was established in 1991 by Oregon State faculty and staff who saw a need for the education of the campus and local community about Asian and Pacific Islander cultures and heritages. In 2003 the Center's name was changed to the Asian & Pacific Cultural Center (APCC). The center exists to provide academic, cultural, recreational, and social programs and activities related, but not limited to, the Asian/Pacific Island cultures and heritages.

The original Asian & Pacific Cultural Center was located in an older former home on the northwest corner of the OSU campus. On May 5, 2014, ground was broken for a new facility, to be built just west of Fairbanks Hall and east of Austin Hall. As with all of OSU's cultural centers, the new APCC space (also designed by the Jones & Jones architectural firm) will include a gathering hall, student lounge, study area, offices, kitchen and quiet space.

In addition to the Native American Longhouse and the Asian & Pacific Cultural Center, Oregon State University is home to two other cultural centers organized around ethnic identity, each with their own facility: the Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center and the Centro Cultural César Chávez.

The Women's Center at Oregon State University began in 1972 as a study group of Oregon State faculty led by Economics Professor Jeanne Dost. In addition to teaching a course on contemporary women's issues, the group wanted to create a place on campus for the open study and discussion of feminist issues by students and outside speakers. The new Women's Center, which was established in 1973, offered counseling, support groups, tutoring, and developmental programs to both women and men. The Center began receiving University funding in 1974 as a program of the Memorial Union and Student Activities. The Women's Center is located in the Benton Annex, a small building constructed in 1892 as the Station Building, which was slated for destruction in the early 1970s.

Accruals: Future additions documenting each of Oregon State University's four cultural centers are expected.

More Extent Information: 13 sound files; 1 video file; 6.15 gigabytes born digital

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: All interviews were conducted by OSU Libraries Special Collections & Archives Research Center staff, sometimes in concert with other colleagues as indicated.

Related Materials:

This collection is a component of the Oregon Multicultural Archives, which documents the lives and activities of the African American, Asian American, Latino/a and Native American communities of Oregon. Researchers interested in the Native American oral tradition may wish to consult the Oregon Native American Language Sound Recordings (OH 012) collection, a repository of the Tolowa and Tututni languages indigenous to the Siletz and Coquille tribes. Likewise, the experiences of a regional community of Japanese-Americans are documented in the Japanese-American Association of Lane County, Oregon Oral History Collection (OH 015). Users may also seek out the Oregon Multicultural Archives Oral History Collection (OH 018), which uses oral interviews to help preserve the experiences and perspectives of Oregon's communities of color.

Materials related to the Native American Longhouse at OSU are held in the Student Affairs (RG 102) and University Advancement (RG 210) Records, the OSU Memorabilia Collection (MC) and the University Publications Photographs (P 094). Likewise, the online digital record of a display celebrating Native American Heritage Month (2011) includes images of the original Native American Longhouse, an architectural rendering of the Eena Haws facility and photographs of past campus pow wows.

Further inquiry into the APCC can be conducted in the Asian & Pacific Cultural Center Records (RG 245). Eight photograph albums and a collection of posters held in RG 245 have been digitized and are available online.

The Special Collections & Archives Research Center is home to the Women's Center Records (RG 243) as well as numerous additional collections documenting women's roles as students, faculty and administrators at Oregon State University. These collections include the records of the President's Commission on the Status of Women (RG 159) and the Associated Students of OSU (RG 011). An additional interview with Nicthé Verdugo is also held in the Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection (OH 26).

Preferred Citation: Oregon State University Cultural Centers Oral History Collection (OH 021), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Oregon State University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives Research Center
Barnd, Natchee Blu
Fernández, Natalia, 1985-

Allee, Amelia L.
Alradhi, Nadia
Asian American college students--Oregon--Corvallis.
Asian students--Oregon--Corvallis.
Baisden, Shelby R.
Cardenas, Daniel Joseph
College environment--Oregon--Corvallis.
Dahri, Soreth
Dorsette, Jason
Hogan, Tyler
Huhndorf, Mariah
Indian college students--Oregon--Corvallis.
Indians of North America--Education (Higher)--United States.
Indians of North America--Education--Oregon.
Indians of North America--Oregon--Interviews.
Kang, Ji-Hae, 1989-
Longhouses--Oregon--Corvallis.
Lopez, Carmen, 1991-
Oregon Multicultural Archives
Oregon State University--Students.
Oregon State University. Asian & Pacific Cultural Center
Oregon State University. Native American Longhouse
Oregon State University. Women's Center
Pacific Islander American students--Oregon--Corvallis.
Parish, Hali'a.
Russell, Christopher J.
Shaker, Mohamed, 1994-
Suzuki, Mandilyn, 1991-
University History
Verdugo, Nicthe
Williams, Matthew S., 1992-
Women--Education (Higher)--Oregon--Corvallis.
Yuan, Maiyee, 1993-

Born digital.