UW-Eau Claire announced Sept. 23 it will partner with the Ho-Chunk Nation to push more native students toward higher education. It’s the first agreement of its kind in the UW System.

By the start of fall semester next year, the university plans to house Ho-Chunk and other native students in The Priory, a recently acquired building Eau Claire now uses partially as dorms.

Katherine Rhoades, dean and professor emerita of the Eau Claire women’s studies department, said the partnership will help build the next generation of Native American community leaders.

“Enrollment has increased for Native American students over the last five years, but for whatever reason, they still have a low graduation rate,” Rhoades said. “We talk a lot about diversity, but this is an opportunity to put our money where our mouth is.”

Rhoades was appointed last year by Interim Chancellor Gilles Bousquet to spearhead a Priory development task force, which unanimously decided to use The Priory as a living-learning environment for Ho-Chunk and other Native American students last spring.

Rhoades met with Chancellor James Schmidt in May, two weeks after he took over for Bousquet. Schmidt “pledged his total support,” Rhoades said.

“When the opportunity came to the university to buy The Priory, there were a lot of visions,” Rhoades said. “The task force was charged with finding the best and highest use for The Priory.”

What makes The Priory unique, Rhoades said, is a joint Eau Claire and Ho-Chunk plan to recruit non-traditional Native American students to live and learn there.

It’s important for non-traditional native students have the opportunity to go to school, Rhoades said. Native American students — and other minorities for that matter — may face economic challenges that keep them away from college.

Debra Barker, chair of the American Indian Studies program on campus, met with Ho-Chunk leaders to draft layers of the plan.

“I think The Priory will parallel the nine other living learning communities that are presently operating,” Barker said. “It brings together a group of like-minded people. It’s an opportunity for residents to advance their knowledge of Ho-Chunk culture.”

Rhoades said Barker was giving a speech on the partnership to the Ho-Chunk last spring — but before she could finish, a Ho-Chunk community leader snatched the microphone from Baker and said, “This is the best thing that could happen to our community.”

University decision makers were impressed with Ho-Chunk’s commitment to education, Rhoades said. She worked closely with Adrienne Thunder, director of the Ho-Chunk education division, to plan college recruitment efforts for potential Ho-Chunk students.

Eau Claire features spaces for other campus ethnic groups, but Native American groups are often overlooked on campus, Barker said. Moving from a Native American community to a standard college setting can be a shock for students.

“That’s not just with Ho-Chunk, but with many students that come to Eau Claire,” Barker said. “The culture on this campus is so vastly different than what students may have known in their home communities.”

Eau Claire junior Ashley Duffy, president of Native American Student Association at Eau Claire, said she is no stranger to culture shock.

Duffy grew up in a Chippewa community near Lake Superior. She attended a two-year campus close to home, then transferred to Eau Claire.

She said she felt out of place at first on Eau Claire’s campus, but soon got involved in NASA and was able to connect with students from
similar backgrounds.

“Even some of my good friends were ignorant,” Duffy said. “Initially it was tough, but after getting involved in American Indian Studies courses and NASA it got easier. We hold events to show people we’re not running around in the woods in wearing loincloths.”

Duffy said she’s glad to see the university is making a commitment to Ho-Chunk and native culture. Creating a space for Native American students on campus won’t just make the transition to college less jarring, it’ll help build a strong future for tribes across the state, she said.