Respecting Culture and Keeping Our Promise
Christina Duszynski
Undergraduate/Political Sciene
Equity. Diversity. Inclusiveness. – The three words that this University prides itself on. Believe it or not, UWEC has actually committed publically to enhancing such things in many different forms. But do we really practice what we preach? As a matter of fact our new mission statement uses the word “empathy,” meaning not only that we care for others, but that we care for things, objects; objects this University values and prides itself on I would hope - objects such as the Council Oak Tree.
For the past few weeks I have spent time researching the issue surrounding the Council Oak Tree and the new Davies Student Center building. I have spoken with faculty, administration, and various students. I’ve done my fair share of research on the issue as well as the tree itself, to truly be able to understand all aspects of the situation. Although, many students will claim certain things to be “true or false,” much of what they think they “know,” is skewed stories, hearsay, and slander. I refuse to be one of “those students,” so I will present you with the facts starting from where it all began; our Council Oak tree.
For those of you that don’t know, when it comes to the Council Oak Tree, we are dealing with a major part of cultural history. Although many students might be unaware of the historic oak tree that sits on our south lawn, back behind Davies near our nursing building; this simple tree is the background of all of our University propaganda, it is part of our crest and our logo, and it appears on all of our University materials – this simple tree is much more than just a tree; a great deal more.
To get you to truly understand what the tree means to this University, I will present you with information directly from UWEC Department of History, Dr. Jim Oberly’s “The Council Oak Tree – A Chronology,” and the University Senate’s “Background for the Council Oak Tree Resolution” document.
The History of the Council Oak
The story begins in 1680, where it was recorded that “a seedling took root and held, 100 yards or so down from the Chippewa River.” By 1800, “the seedling had grown to significant height, visible and well-known from travelers of the Chippewa.” According to legend, in the 18 century, the Native American tribes Ojibwe and Dakota described an oak tree “visible downstream from where the Eau Claire flows into the Chippewa.” In the text of the treaty the United States presented at Prairie du Chien in the summer of 1825, the place of the Council Oak was referred to as “one-half day’s march below the falls of the Chippewa.”
In these passages Native Americans clearly refer to parts of our campus as the place of their original Oak tree and “center of peace.” Throughout history, the tree continued to be honored – when Eau Claire became a county it remained, it was preserved in Eau Claire Driving Park [now known as Putnam Park], and most importantly it still stood tall when this University was founded in 1916. Later in the 1960’s when the Davies Center was expanded, the grand meeting room was named “Council Fire” to honor the Council Oak. Today it is a part of our school logo, and included in many, if not all, Eau Claire emblems and materials.
Although the original tree was damaged in 1966 and eventually destroyed by a windstorm in 1987, this University worked hard to keep these historical and cultural ties a part of this University. Chancellor Larry Schnack vowed to plant a new oak tree on the grounds of the old Council Oak. The seedlings didn’t take root at first, but years later in 1990 at a sunrise ceremony, the tree that we now know today as our Council Oak was planted. The Native American tribes gathered with honor songs for the new Oak, and a ceremony was held to dedicate the tree. A gathering of Native Americans, faculty and administration from this University, and people from the Chippewa Valley then pledged to honor and protect the tree for the next seven generations, or 300 more years.
The Council Oak is not just a tree, but a piece of history and an important part of this University and also, the county and city of Eau Claire.
The New Davies Project
When the new Davies center was first being designed and the location between the nursing building and Phillips Hall had been officially chosen, the tree being “near” the site was not seen as an issue. Some members of the faculty expressed concerns that it would be an issue, but they were assured that it would not and the diagrams proved that. In fact, the first diagrams released in March depicted the building much farther to the East than where the current diagrams do and not impinging on the tree. The location of the building in the original diagrams put the tree 10-15 feet away from the building, clearly not a concern. The only possible problem presented could have been the root system underground leaving us with less basement-like space in the structure. However, over the summer, a change in building plans occurred. The new Davies building needed to be moved farther to the West, approximately 10 feet, because of a possible Phillips Hall expansion in the future and implications concerning runoff from Little Niagara. This change put the tree directly in the middle of the loading dock area of the new Davies and clearly presented a major problem.
The full campus faculty learned of this decision at the 2009-2010 opening breakfast and many members were very upset. The reason these objections came so long after the site was originally chosen, was because the tree was only a possible underground implication as I previously mentioned, and not a direct threat like the new building plan posed it to be. When the students arrived this fall, many learned of the change in building plans and were concerned about the Council Oak as well, immediately taking a stance on the issue. On Tuesday, September 22, 2009 after consulting with faculty, students, and the building committee for the new Davies, our chancellor announced at a University Senate meeting that the Davies building plans would be revised to protect and preserve the historic Council Oak Tree. The University Senate was exceptionally pleased with this decision and erupted in cheers.
In the days following the chancellor’s decision, many mistruths have been spoken regarding the building and what implications keeping this tree will have. People who claim to be our “student leaders” are making assumptions and misinforming students that building plans will be delayed for a year and they will have to pay up to $2.5 million to keep this tree. Please know, these are not FACTS, these are ASSUMPTIONS. These actions are an attempt to get the student body riled up about something that could turn out to not even be an issue at all; years from now we could have our tree and our new Davies and everything could be just fine. At this point, the TRUTH is that we don’t know what the implications are; we only know what they could be. Building redesigns could take anywhere from a few months to a year, however most likely the former, and private donations are being sought to cover the cost, whatever it ends up being, so the students will not have to pay a penny. In the grand scheme of things, the time and money invested to correct this “mistake” are going to be worthwhile.
The Other Side
Some students feel the need to essentially rebel against the administration because they have a natural feeling of distrust for the administration, however for no clear reason on this particular matter. I am not saying by any means that I have agreed with EVERY decision the administration has made, for I have not, but every decision is something new and different and I simply don’t believe in “rebelling for the sake of being rebellious.” I believe the administration knows the mistake they made and will do what it takes to correct it, not at the cost of the students.
Some students feel that we shouldn’t be “speaking for other cultures” or “claiming to KNOW what they do or do not believe.” However, after doing my fair share of research on this topic, I can conclude that the AIS faculty of this University knows about the cultural significance of this tree and what the Native Americans do or do not believe regarding it. In fact, some have even spoken with tribal leaders themselves. These faculty members may not be directly a part of the native culture, but they went to school for many years to learn about it so they were qualified to be able to teach it to students. I think that, coupled with the many historical documents that prove the tree’s cultural significance and beliefs surrounding it, are quite a fair assessment of the “culture” involved.
Some students also believe that the faculty is lying, which is outright ridiculous. Personally knowing how much this tree means to certain members of the faculty of this University, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY DOUBT that had they KNOWN that the tree would need to be removed for the new Davies building plans to proceed, that they would have remained silent until now. That is simply illogical. Why would they lie? What benefit would they even have to lying if they wanted to? What motive would they have for wanting to delay the building plans other than that of saving this tree? Also, knowing how upset the faculty and some students have been about the possible removal of this tree, it is purely ludicrous to suggest that they knew all along that the tree would be removed and didn’t say anything until now. As I have previously stated, concerns were expressed with the tree by both faculty and students in the beginning planning stages of the new Davies and the tree was not depicted as being in danger by the current building plans, so the case was dismissed. It wasn’t until this summer, after the building was moved West for regulation purposes, in which the tree became an immediate concern, as it was directly in the area of the loading dock. And it wasn’t until the 2009-2010 faculty opening breakfast that the full faculty were informed of this and soon became outraged.
The Facts
The bottom line is that this issue isn’t about time or money; it isn’t even about the new Davies because that building will get built regardless of whether or not the plans have to be altered. This is about keeping our promise to another culture. This University claims to have “diversity.” Funny, it’s so easy to agree with diversity when they want to add a “Diversity Resource Center” across from the bookstore, or when they want to have a Pow Wow in Zorn Arena, but when we actually get the chance to truly embrace diversity and really value different cultures and our connection with them, that we somehow become so incredibly selfish and disrespectful. I’m sorry, but just don’t understand that.
On October 5, 2009 Student Senate will meet in the Tamarack Room at 6 p.m. as we always do, and vote on a resolution in favor or not in favor of altering the Davies building plans to save the Council Oak tree. This resolution will be based entirely upon ASSUMPTIONS of what MIGHT happen or what the implications MIGHT be of altering the building plans for our Council Oak tree. Although, the decision has already been made by the chancellor to protect and preserve the tree, many “student leaders” are attempting to cause uproar over things that no one is even sure of yet and facts that we don’t even have. So this article is directed at those students, and mainly at the group of students – whoever you may be, who feel that money is more important than keeping promises, who claim they agree with “cultural diversity” but apparently have no idea what that even means, and who want to knock a tree down simply because we need to build the new Davies there and “they don’t care” about anything that stands in the way of that.
Cutting down the Council Oak tree is breaking a promise the people of our University and community made to the Native Americans many years ago. The Council Oak tree is historically and culturally significant to this University and to the Native people, and to cut it down would be defying what this University stands for. It would be disrespectful to people of another culture and it is going against the mission statement and strategic plan of our University. The Council Oak tree is considered the living symbol of this University; it always has been and I daresay, always will be.
If you are reading this article and know of this tree - the living symbol I speak of, but have never actually seen it in person or know where it is, not to worry. Seeing as our chancellor made the right decision in protecting and preserving our Council Oak Tree, you can plan on seeing much more of our living symbol, as it will continue to be located EXACTLY where it is now – right outside our NEW Davies Student Center building.