The Native American Studies Department Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab and Traditional Ecological Knowledges Institute (FSL) are humbled and grateful for the continued support as we create spaces and programs dedicated to the learning, research, hands-on practice, and preservation of food sovereignty, traditional ecological knowledges, and Indigenous Science. The purpose of the FSL is to provide an opportunity to work directly with the surrounding communities, tribal nations, and national and international scholars and community leaders to center, learn, and engage with Indigenous science, environmental management, and preservation practices, in a manner that foregrounds tribal autonomy and self-determination.
Due to a steep rise in construction costs, the lab is in a deficit of funding needed to complete the physical space. To date, through a variety of partners and student-led fundraising efforts, $500,000 has been raised for the lab. There is still a need for $112,000 to finish the lab including the floors, countertops, and technology.
This campaign will prioritize the funds needed for a custom designed floor by local Karuk carver and artist Alme Allen which amounts to $33,000.
“After several digital renderings of floor design possibilities I began to settle in on one thing that was consistent, a dark background with a pale yellow basketry pattern. It was at this time that I realized that my work was beginning to take on a reminiscent look and style of the Wiyot weaver, Elizabeth Hickox. She was one of the most notable weavers of her day and her basket scan literally be found all over the world, so I find it only fitting that my design be dedicated to her life’s work. Entering the Food Sovereignty lab from the main north doors, a sweeping obsidian design pattern begins on the east wall and moves along a gentle arch to the west side of the room. As the design moves across the space it grows in size and fills the center of the room and is beneath all of the classroom desks. What this means - as students we come to learn and grow, their knowledge expands until they are ready to go out into the world. Also there are ten obsidian blades in the work to represent our World Renewal practices and our commitment to the environment.” -Alme Allen
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