UW VG 2024-25 DM Accessible - Flipbook - Page 10
A radical
radical history
histor y
of
of tthe
he U
UW
W
A self-guided tour
By Mayowa Aina
wÝkÝbaltx·, also known as the
Intellectual House, provides a
space for American Indian and
Alaska Native students to gather.
Sophia Li
Learn more about the university9s past and the legacy
of student activism and political engagement on the UW
campus.
Cunningham Hall
The Women9s Building opened in 1909, originally as
part of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition to display
women9s art and host visiting women. Subsequently, the
building served as a center for women on campus and
throughout the community until 1916, when it was used to
support the war effort and then for storage.
Intellectual House
Since its founding in 1861, the UW has occupied
Duwamish lands, and the Duwamish Tribe continues
its struggle for federal recognition. In support of this
struggle, Native American students, faculty, staff, and
community members conceptualized and proposed a
project in the 1970s to build a structure on campus to
provide space for Native people. This project became the
Intellectual House.
The building was forgotten for decades until a new
feminist movement sparked its rediscovery. Women
reclaimed the building in the early 1980s and named it
Cunningham Hall after Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976),
a pioneering artistic portrait photographer and a UW
chemistry graduate.
wÝkÝbaltx· 3 Intellectual House supports Native
students9 ability to remain involved in their home tribes
and communities through its social and academic
programs and its symbolic design. The space invites tribal
elders and community members to gather together for
dialogue, storytelling, and the sharing of knowledge with
our students. The building officially opened March 12,
2015.
Today, Cunningham Hall houses the Women9s Information
Center, which serves women both on campus and in the
community, and the Northwest Center for Research on
Women.
Loew Hall
In 1969, Students for a Democratic Society were
leading the anti-Vietnam War protests around campus,
particularly targeting recruiters. During one of these
10 | History
