Tribal flags welcome new students

MOSCOW - Prospective students visiting the University of Idaho will now be welcomed by a Nez Perce rendition of "Mother Earth."

The three-paneled painting, by artist Sarah Penney, adorns the Tribal Nations Lounge on the first floor of the University of Idaho's Bruce M. Pitman Center, just outside the doors of the campus visit office.

The newly designated space, dedicated during a ceremony Friday afternoon, will be a permanent home to flags from 10 regional tribes with which UI has a memorandum of understanding. The agreement includes in-state tuition to all tribal members.

Seven of the flags - the Nez Perce, Coeur d'Alene, Kalispel, Shoshone-Bannock, Spokane, Yakama and Umatilla - were installed Friday. The Shoshone-Paiute, Kootenai and Colville tribes' flags will be added soon.

Penney's painting and a stylized portrait by Pendleton, Ore., artist Ellen Taylor titled "Off to the Powwow," are the first in what will be a rotating display of American Indian artwork.

UI President Chuck Staben spoke to a standing-room-only crowd in the lounge after meeting with members of the school's Native American Advisory Council, who also participated in the dedication event.

Staben explained it was pointed out to him that while the Pitman Center is home to the International Ballroom, filled with flags from around the world, Native tribes were not acknowledged.

"It does seem a contradiction that we would not recognize the people who were here before us," he said.

That oversight was corrected in conjunction with UI's Native American Heritage Month, which continues through the end of November.

Executive Director of Tribal Relations Yolanda Bisbee called forward American Indian students from the audience, including the members of the Vandal Nation drum circle who performed for the event.

"These Native students are the reasons why we create these spaces," Bisbee said.

The Nimiipuu flag was presented by Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee member Samuel Penney, who noted the importance of natural resources to the Nez Perce way of life is reflected in the flag's design.

Similarly, Sarah Penney's likeness of a Nimiipuu woman with outstretched hands, rising from the ground beyond a camas field, includes a sky adorned with images of elk, horses and salmon - animals sacred to the Nez Perce.

"It's just about taking care of our natural resources, preserving them for future generations," Sarah Penney said of her work.

Commissioned in 2003 for the Lewis Clark Discovery Center at Hells Gate State Park in Lewiston, her colorful triptych was digitally reproduced for the new installation.

"It's fitting that this piece is chosen," Penney said of her artwork after the ceremony. "Because we're all fighting to save our resources for future generations."

Respect for the Earth, including the current effort to protect the water supply in North Dakota by protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline, is not exclusively a Native calling, Sarah Penney said.

"It isn't just an indigenous people issue," she said. "It's an issue for all of us."

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Stone may be contacted at mstone@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2244. Follow her on Twitter @MarysSchoolNews.